South Dakota Governor William J. Janklow signed a bill Friday that says the state will only recognize marriage between a man and a woman. South Dakota became the second state to rewrite its marriage laws to deny lesbian and gay couples the right to marry, following a similar law enacted last year in Utah. The […]
Backers of a California initiative that would outlaw affirmative action programs for women and people of color and would make sex discrimination legal filed over 1 million signatures Wednesday (February 21) to place the measure on the November ballot. The deceptively titled “California Civil Rights Initiative” would bar the state of California from continuing affirmative […]
On Wednesday, President Clinton inaugurated a national domestic violence hotline at a White House ceremony. Having intervened as a teen-ager after his step-father beat his mother, Clinton was visibly moved as survivors of domestic violence told their stories of fear and of the need for advocacy when members of the clergy, the health profession, and […]
The Salt Lake City, Utah Board of Education voted Tuesday to ban all non-academic extracurricular clubs from the city’s three public high schools rather than allow a gay student organization. Board members said federal law and a Supreme Court ruling forced them to choose between allowing all, or eliminating all, extracurricular clubs. The ban begins […]
In a unanimous opinion Friday, a federal appeals court upheld a permanent injunction issued last March by U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Stevens ordering abortion protester Regina R. Dinwiddie to stay 500 feet from any abortion clinic in the U.S., except for “legitimate personal activity” and peaceful protesting. The injunction also bans her use of […]
Last week, convicted batterer Maximo Pena assaulted his ex-girlfriend, who he felt had “snubbed him” on Valentine’s Day. In July 1995, Pena had been freed by New York Judge Lorin Duckman in spite of prosecutors’ demands for a two-year jail term. Earlier last week a woman was killed by ex-boyfriend Benito Oliver, another convict set […]
While Hawaii sits on the verge of sanctioning marriage or “domestic partnership” by couples of the same sex, opponents of same-sex unions are complaining about the potential societal impact of such unions and their cost to state and federal agencies. Peter Knight, a Republican member of the California Assembly and chief sponsor of the state’s […]
After remarking that Microsoft did not employ a single “secretary” and that the company wanted nothing to do with “secretaries,” computer mogul Bill Gates has written an apology to this week’s Administrative Assistant Adviser magazine. He stated that while Microsoft support staff go by the title of “administrative assistant” rather than secretary, he has the […]
According to attorney J.W. Carney, Jr., John Salvi killed two abortion clinic workers and wounded five others because he was driven by schizophrenic delusions. Carney stressed that this case is about “not what happened, or by whom it happened, but why it happened.” However, Assistant District Attorney John Kivlan noted in his opening statement that […]
On Tuesday, a federal court ruled that by not properly investigating claims of sexual harassment by an employee, Columbia University implicitly condoned that behavior. The jury found that Columbia must pay Sharon Karibian $450,000. Ms. Karibian had reported that her supervisor, Mark Urban, had threatened to cut her hours if she did not have and […]
The opening statements are set to begin today in the trial of accused Brookline shooter John Salvi. On Tuesday, the jury was taken to see the two abortion clinics where the two women were murdered. Although the murders were not specifically discussed, the jury was asked to note the structure of the building and most […]
Opponents of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual College Conference of the Southeastern United States had attempted to stop the upcoming conference from being held at the University of Alabama. However, a US District Judge rejected their claims that it was illegal for a taxpayer-funded school to support such a conference. The school had stood behind […]
Fortune magazine released the results of a mail-in questionnaire survey today regarding women’s and men’s attitudes in the workplace. They found that most women (54%) thought female employees worked harder than their male counterparts, whereas only 17% of men agreed. As for applying for jobs, 77% of women thought that they had to have more […]
The Virginia Assembly voted to allow longer maternity stays for new mothers. In a unanimous decision of both houses, the legislation puts the decision on how long a woman and her newborn can remain in the hospital into the hands of her doctor. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Jane H. Woods (R) who noted, […]
Tonight, Marcia Ann Gillespie, editor in chief of Ms. magazine and Gloria Steinem, the magazine’s co-founder, will honor twelve recipients of the Women of the Year awards. This year’s winners include: Marcia Clark, Susan Sarandon, Candace Gingrich, Daw Aaung San Suu Kyi, Oseola McCarty, Shannon Faulkner, and Preema Mathai- Davis.
In an effort to help families and children, President Clinton announced in his weekly radio address his commitment to raise the minimum wage. We’re trying to pass welfare reform which supports both work and child-rearing, and we ought to raise the minimum wage,” he stated. Clinton noted that, No parent can raise a child on […]
In a meeting in Des Moines on Saturday, many Republican presidential candidates signed a pledge vowing to not grant legal acceptance to same sex marriages. The meeting was organized by the National Campaign to Protect the Sanctity of Marriage and was held at the First Federated Church. Alan Keyes, Pat Buchanan, and Sen. Phil Gramm […]
Last August, state and federal agents raided a garment-factory sweatshop in Los Angeles and found 72 Thai immigrants confined to a compound ringed with razor wire and spiked fences. On Friday, seven operators pleaded guilty to violating federal civil rights laws. The immigrants were told that they had to repay the cost of their transportation […]
On Thursday, President Clinton ordered the military to not order any more B-2 “stealth” bombers because they are too costly and not needed for the nation’s security. His decision came after reading a National Security Council review on the necessity of the bombers for national security, which advised that the money should be spent on […]
The case of Dr. Maureen Polsby vs Donna Shalala, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, is being heard by Judge Chasanaw at the US Federal District Courthouse in Greenbelt, MD. Today, Dr. Jonathan Pinkis, former Chairman of Neurology at Georgetown, is scheduled to testify that Dr. Polsby is making up her claims […]
