Itawamba County school district in Mississippi agreed yesterday to pay student Constance McMillen over $35,000 in damages as a result of her lawsuit against the school district’s anti-gay policies. The agreement also requires the school district to adopt a non-discrimination policy that includes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. McMillen, a lesbian teen who […]
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Supreme Court nomination of Elena Kagan in a 13 to 6 vote this afternoon. The vote fell nearly on party lines, with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as the only Republican to break from the GOP and vote in favor of Kagan, reports CNN. The Judiciary Committee held four days […]
President Barack Obama Obama released a statement today outlining his support for the elimination of wage discrimination. In the President’s statement, he said, “Paycheck discrimination hurts families who lose out on badly needed income. And with so many families depending on women’s wages, it hurts the American economy as a whole. In difficult economic times […]
World leaders from over 70 countries met in Kabul, Afghanistan, yesterday for an International Conference on Afghanistan,with the goal of helping the war-torn country restore itself economically, socially and politically. Among the attendees were Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Secretary Clinton spoke […]
A new vaginal gel has been developed that appears to help reduce a woman’s risk of acquiring HIV or herpes. The Washington Post reports that after six previously developed gels failed in testing, Gilead Sciences has just released results of a study that indicate a new gel may cut HIV infection by up to 54 […]
Fourteen members of Congress submitted a letter to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) last Thursday, urging them to recognize the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) as an accredited UN organization. According to Foreign Policy, the letter asked UN members to “support the vital role of civil society in the United […]
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic group that controls Gaza, announced a ban late last week that prohibits women from smoking water pipes (hookah) in public. Spokesman for Hamas’ interior Ministry Ihab al-Hussein told the Telegraph, “The police have decided to ban women from smoking narghile (water pipes) in open, public places because it is against our […]
Spain’s lower house of parliament will debate a proposal that would ban burqas in public this week. The proposed ban is based on the argument that the burqa is demeaning to women. The legislation, which was introduced by Spain’s leading opposition party, the Popular Party, is largely supported by the ruling Socialist Party, according to […]
Authorities in Syria banned wearing the niqab, a veil that covers the face, in public universities earlier this week. The niqab has become increasingly popular in the secular country. Authorities banned the garment in an effort to prevent the country from turning to radical Islam, according to CBS News. One source told CBS news that […]
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) released their “Hate Violence Against Lesbian, Gay. Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Communities in 2009,” Report this week. The report describes the frequency of hate violence against members of the LGBTQ community, the racial makeup of victims, the gender of those who commit crimes and the age group […]
A Missouri bill instituting new abortion restrictions became law on Wednesday under the leadership of Governor Jay Nixon, but without his direct signature. According to the Associated Press, Nixon cited a provision in the Missouri constitution that allows a bill to become law without the governor’s signature, thereby avoiding a direct endorsement of the law. […]
Last week, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that the U.S. provide a safety haven for Jinyu Kang, a woman possibly facing torture in China. Kang, a Korean citizen of China who currently lives in New York, eluded a Chinese warrant out for her arrest several years ago for the crime of providing Korean […]
Earlier this week, President Obama unveiled plans to implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which seeks to make the United States “a place where new HIV infections are rare and when they do occur, every person … will have unfettered access to high quality, life-extending care, free from stigma and discrimination.” Headed by the Office of […]
The Vatican declared “attempted ordination” of women to be one of the Catholic Church’s gravest crimes this morning, asserting that it is a “crime against the faith” under their new disciplinary rules, according to Agence France-Presse. Under the new rules, attempted ordination of women is in the same category as clerical sex abuse of minors, […]
A list of over 1,300 potential undocumented immigrants was leaked to the government and media outlets of Utah this week. The list, which includes the names, dates of birth, phone numbers, and addresses of the immigrants, as well as the due dates of any pregnant women, was accompanied by a cover letter urging “immediate deportation […]
A Nebraska judge has ruled against a new law requiring women to undergo a mental health examination prior to receiving an abortion. The law was signed by Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman in the spring, and was scheduled to go into effect today. Last month Planned Parenthood of the Heartland filed a lawsuit challenging the anti-choice […]
Early this morning the Argentine Senate passed a law giving homosexual couples the right to legally wed and adopt children. The law passed by a vote of 33 to 27, making Argentina the first Latin American country to approve gay marriage, reports the New York Times. According to Reuters, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, an open […]
Terri Sewell earned the Democratic nomination last night in Alabama’s 7th District, securing 55% of the vote. If she wins the general election in November, she will become Alabama’s first female and first African American female to be elected to Congress. Sewell’s campaign fought for her victory, raising over a million dollars through fundraising, as […]
The White House will announce today which preventative services are free under the new health care law, according to the Wall Street Journal. Under these new regulations, certain preventive procedures, such as mammograms, colonoscopies, tobacco cessation services, and obesity prevention services, will not require a copayment or other direct costs starting in September. According to […]
Statistics released yesterday by the US Census Bureau reveal that the number of women and minority-owned businesses grew extensively in the years preceding the recession, reports the Washington Post. According to the new numbers, by 2007 women owned almost one third of American small businesses, and minorities owned one in five. Between 2002 and 2007 […]
