An Oklahoma County District Judge Daniel Owens ruled Friday that an anti-choice state law not yet enacted is unconstitutional, thus blocking enforcement of the law. The law was found to be unconstitutional on the basis that the law violates state rules requiring that legislation address only a single subject, according to the Associated Press. The […]
A class action lawsuit was filed last week alleges that the civil rights of Black, Latina/o, and Native American applicants to California schools are violated due to an amendment, Proposition 209, to the state constitution. The Proposition 209 amendment to the California constitution passed in 1996 and prohibits affirmative action in public employment, education, and […]
The 2nd District Court of Appeals reversed the judgment in a 2007 discrimination case against the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). Brenda Lee, who alleged she endured harassment on account of her gender, race, and sexual orientation was originally awarded $6.2 million by a jury and $2,500 in punitive damages. The appeals court found that […]
The Supreme Court announced this week that they will hear arguments on April 28 on the question of whether the identities of those who have signed ballot measure petitions can be disclosed by the state. The court will decide whether signing a ballot measure petition is protected by the First Amendment as a form of […]
Skier Marjan Kalhor, 21, is the first woman to represent Iran in the Winter Olympics. She was Iran’s flag bearer at the opening ceremonies in Vancouver last week. There are three other athletes in the Iranian delegation. Kalhor is competing in the giant slalom and Alpine slalom events. She told Ennahar Online that “skiing is […]
The New Hampshire state House voted 219 to 122 yesterday against a bill that treated a fetus as a person for the purposes of homicide. The bill would have added “unborn child” to “the definition of ‘another’ for the purpose of first and second degree murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide” under state law. State Representative […]
The Missouri state Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony this week on a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound 24 hours prior to an abortion procedure. The bill, introduced by state Senator Rob Mayer (R), also requires doctors to describe details of the ultrasound images and women to sign a form indicating that […]
Signatures were submitted Friday in support of a new so-called “personhood” ballot initiative in Colorado. Supporters of the measure submitted 79,817 signatures, just 3,770 more than is necessary to certify the measure and well under the some 131,000 signatures submitted to certify a similar measure for the 2008 election, according to the Denver Daily News. […]
The Utah state Senate proposed a ban on affirmative action Friday. According to the Deseret News, the legislation says that the state “may not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin with respect to public employment, public education, or public […]
Written by Michel Kort, When Susan Hill was operated on for breast cancer several years ago, she didn’t recognize the name nurses called out as she emerged from anesthesia. “That’s because I was admitted under an alias,” she recalled last year, shortly after her longtime friend Dr. George Tiller was murdered by an anti-abortion extremist. […]
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) reprimanded her colleagues in a floor speech Thursday for their two-month-long hold on the confirmation of Judge Susan Carbon as the Director of the Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women (OVW). President Barack Obama first nominated Carbon to be director of the OVW in October 2009, according to the […]
The US Army decided last week to dismiss specialist and single mother Alexis Hutchinson with an other-than-honorable discharge instead of a court-martial. Hutchinson, a 21-year-old Army cook, failed to board her flight for deployment to Afghanistan last fall after child care plans for her 10-month-old son fell through. The next day, the military arrested Hutchinson […]
Several polls released released this week indicate wide public support for repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” A Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 75 percent of respondents support letting lesbians and gays serve openly in the military. A similar poll conducted in 1993 found that only 44 percent were supportive of lesbian and gay individuals […]
Portugal’s Parliament passed a bill yesterday to legalize same-sex marriage in the country. Portugal lifted a ban on homosexuality less than three decades ago. The bill must be signed by President Anibal Cavaco Silva to become law. Under the new law, same-sex couples would still not be able legally adopt children. If President Silva vetoes […]
A group of female and Hispanic Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) employees filed a class action complaint yesterday against their employer with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. Lawyers for the workers wrote in the complaint that women and Hispanic workers “pigeonholed in entry-level positions” and “remain grossly underpaid compared to their similarly situated non-Latino and […]
The New Hampshire state House postponed a vote yesterday on a bill that treats a fetus as a person for the purposes of homicide. A vote is now expected next week. The bill would add “unborn child” to “the definition of ‘another’ for the purpose of first and second degree murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide” […]
A new report released yesterday by the Ohio Trafficking in Persons Study Commission indicates that approximately 1,800 American and immigrant children are coerced into sex-trafficking or forced labor in Ohio. Professor Celia Williamson of the University of Toledo, who led the research for the study, explained, “Ohio is not only a destination place for foreign-born […]
The New York state Senate voted 53 to 8 yesterday to expel Senator Hiram Monserrate (D) because of misdemeanor assault charges. In December 2008, Monserrate was videotaped dragging his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, through their apartment building’s lobby after he cut her face with broken glass. He avoided felony assault charges in the incident, which would […]
The Virginia state Senate passed a bill to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for state workers and in hiring for government jobs Monday. The bill passed on a 23 to 17 vote, but is expected to see opposition in the majority Republican state House. The proposed legislation defines sexual orientation as “a […]
A group of Iranian feminists and activists are asking women’s rights groups and feminists worldwide for support in demanding “an end to state-led violence and repression” and “immediate release of all political detainees in Iran.” Thus far, more than 40 women’s rights groups from 9 countries are supporting partners. Under the name Gender Equality for […]
