In several states, lawmakers interested in restricting no-fault divorce have suggested “cooling off” periods and mandatory counseling for couples wishing to divorce without establishing who is at fault. Some of the momentum to change the laws comes from religious conservatives and father’s rights groups. A sociology professor at the University of Southern California, Constance Ahrons […]
The White House has sent a memo to general counsels throughout the government proposing new rules for all federal departments that would require proof of discrimination before awarding race-based government contracts and would limit such contracting. The rules would disallow strict set-aside rules that designate specific numbers of minority contracts, and such “race-conscious” procurement would […]
On Wednesday, Virginia became one of the last states to comply with the National Voter Registration Act, which facilitates voter registration by enlisting motor vehicle offices and posting mail-in voter applications at numerous public places. Gov. George Allen had failed in his attempt to show that Congress was unconstitutionally dictating election laws to the states […]
Last Thursday, a northern California group called the Freedom To Marry Task Force presented 1,600 letters opposing an anti-gay bill to California Assemblywoman Sheila James Keuhl of Santa Monica, who opposes the bill. The bill was introduced by Assemblyman William J. Knight and passed by the Assembly 41-33 on January 31, 1996; it would invalidate […]
The Washington Post reports that the Pentagon has not yet decided whether or not to aid production of “G.I. Jane,” a new Demi Moore movie about the Navy. According to the Post, Moore has appealed directly to President Clinton to urge Pentagon approval of the project. The Pentagon often helps military-related movie productions with equipment […]
On Tuesday, Gov. George Pataki of New York signed legislation prohibiting law-enforcement officials from subjecting rape victims to polygraph tests. A previous law merely barred authorities from requiring the use of such tests. “Survivors of sexual assault should not be victimized a second time with frequent and grossly insensitive requests to take a polygraph test,” […]
Officials announced Tuesday that an American woman soldier was raped early Saturday morning in the area of a Czech battalion in northern Bosnia. The investigation was focusing on Czech soldiers with the NATO-led peace mission. The soldier was evacuated Sunday to the Taszar Air Base in Hungary for treatment. U.S. Army Europe spokeswoman Capt. Leela […]
California Gov. Pete Wilson is urging Presidential candidate Bob Dole to speak up on the issue of affirmative action before it gets claimed by Pat Buchanan. At a debate two weeks ago, the Rev. Jesse Jackson predicted that Wilson would end up supporting Buchanan for president because of Buchanan’s strong stand against affirmative action programs […]
In a setback for antiabortion forces in Richmond, the Virginia House of Delegates defeated a measure Monday to make the killing of a fetus a criminal act of murder. “Feticide” would have become a crime punishable by 20 years to life in prison. Pro-choice voices said the measure would begin to erode the legal right […]
In the abortion clinic murder trial of John Salvi, defense witness Dr. Phillip Resnick was cross-examined Monday. The psychiatrist acknowledged that Salvi only revealed some of his paranoid delusions after learning that his lawyers planned an insanity defense. Salvi did not bring up certain topics during two interviews with Resnick following the December 1994 attacks. […]
In an appeal Monday, the Supreme Court said that a 90-minute sex education and AIDS education program held at a school assembly did not violate religious freedom or parents’ right to raise their children as they saw fit. Two former Massachusetts high school students and their parents had objected to the program; their lawsuit had […]
President Clinton announced a proposal Monday to reduce the fiscal 1997 military budget by $9.2 billion to $242.6 billion. His plan includes reductions in spending on both new weapons and operations and maintenance. Clinton also said Monday he will veto a spending bill needed to keep the government open past March 15 if Congress does […]
Across the nation, women’s rights groups and civil rights groups are galvanizing support to defeat an initiative on the November ballot in California which would end state and locally sponsored affirmative action programs. At a press conference last week after the initiative supporters filed more than their required signatures, the Campaign to Save Women’s Rights […]
The Justice Department released a report Sunday showing that two-thirds of state inmates imprisoned for rape had committed their crime against a child. Three out of four of the victims in the sexual assaults were girls, and 88 percent were known to the assaulter. “This high rate of child victims is behind the heightened concern […]
According to a new CNN-TIME Election Monitor, a clear majority of Pat Buchanan’s supporters want the Republican platform to include a call for a constitutional amendment to ban abortion. In contrast, of supporters of the other major Republican candidates, less than a quarter want such an amendment. The survey interviewed 1,002 registered Republicans between February […]
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Phillip Resnick testified last week that accused murderer John Salvi suffered delusions brought on by paranoid schizophrenia when he killed two and wounded five at two Brookline, Mass. abortion clinics in December 1994. Resnick’s defense testimony contradicted the evidence of Salvi’s careful planning provided by the prosecution. Two witnesses testified to watching […]
The defense called former New Hampshire state Sen. Robert Preston to the stand Thursday to testify that he remembered accused murderer John Salvi screaming in a Roman Catholic church on Christmas Eve 1994, two days before he attacked two abortion clinics. Preston testified that Salvi ranted that the church wasn’t doing enough to help Catholics, […]
According to the American Political Network, the Republican Congress that reconvenes Tuesday after a winter break will follow a strategy that is “far less aggressive” than last session’s 100-day “forced march” centered around the “Contract with America.” House Speaker Newt Gingrich and GOP leaders are reportedly moving on a “more patient agenda with fewer issues, […]
Scientists have concluded that BRCA1, the human breast cancer gene, is a true “suppressor gene” and causes cancer only when it mutates to yield to a faulty protein. Two research teams have discovered that the same genes can halt or shrink the growth of human breast and ovarian cancers, and even make some tumors disappear. […]
On Tuesday, Chief Petty Officer George Powell was convicted of indecent assault, simple assault, and drunk and disorderly conduct for sexually harassing an enlisted woman on a commercial jet in October of 1995 and another woman on a flight in November. The 23-year-old woman on the October flight had testified that Powell, 49 grabbed her […]
