Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against public-sector unions in Janus v AFSCME, deciding that unions can no longer collect fees from public employees who opt not to be union members yet are covered by and profit from all of the benefits that unions achieve. This ruling reversed precedent from the 1977 ruling in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education.
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Anti-Abortion Fake Clinics
This week, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court struck down a California law requiring that anti-abortion, fake health centers provide women with complete and accurate information about abortion.
Uncategorized
Supreme Court Rules on Major Gerrymandering Cases
The Supreme Court ruled on two major cases regarding gerrymandering on Monday. The decisions, a victory for Republican lawmakers in Texas and North Carolina, allow for the majority of the states’ voting districts to remain in their current design ahead of the 2018 elections.
Supreme Court Upholds Trump Administration’s Travel Ban by Blocking Court of Appeals Decision
On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court blocked a lower court’s decision that exempted refugees from the Trump Administration’s travel ban. The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that refugees who currently have contracts with resettlement sponsors or refugee organizations would be permitted to enter the country while the legality of travel ban […]
Marriage Equality Activist Edith Windsor Dies at 88
Edith Windsor, LGBTQ and civil rights activist, dies at 88 in Manhattan on Tuesday. After the death of her wife, Thea Spyer, in 2009, Windsor attempted to claim federal tax exemptions on her wife’s estate tax. Since same-sex marriage was not recognized by the federal government under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Windsor was […]
Trump’s Temporary Muslim Travel Ban Goes Into Effect
Travelers from Libya, Syria, Iran, Somalia, Yemen, and Sudan will be banned for 90 days if unable to provide a “bona fide relationship” connection to the United States. The Supreme Court ruled to allow the ban until the Court can hear the case in October and make a final ruling.
Uncategorized
Supreme Court to Hear Case Regarding Constitutionality of Partisan Gerrymandering
The term “gerrymandering” refers to the redrawing of legislative districts in order to achieve a balance of voters that will elect a specific kind of candidate.
Uncategorized
Supreme Court Strikes Down Sexist Citizenship Law
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952 required unwed American fathers to spend at least five years living in the United States in order for their children born abroad to receive citizenship, while unwed American mothers were only required to live in the United States for one year.
Birth Control Still Not Universally Accessible 52 Years After Griswold Decision
In 1965, the Supreme Court struck down a Connecticut law that made the use of contraceptives and the provision of information about family planning illegal. The case was the first ever to identify a right to privacy in the Constitution.
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Case of North Carolina Voting Laws
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear North Carolina’s appeal to reinstate their restrictive 2013 voting laws that had previously been struck down by a federal appeals court.
Uncategorized
Bill to Outlaw Conversion Therapy Introduced in Congress
Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) joined Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) to reintroduce the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act (S.928) to ban so-called “conversion therapy” across the nation.
Women’s Health Protection Act Introduced in Congress
The bill seeks to enforce the decision from the 2016 Supreme Court case Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, in which two provisions of a Texas law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a local hospital were ruled an unconstitutional undue burden on women seeking an abortion.
Neil Gorsuch Confirmed to the Supreme Court
On Friday, the Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch to serve as an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court by a vote of 54-45. He will be sworn in on Monday.
Senate Expected to Vote on Gorsuch Nomination Next Week
Thousands of grassroots activists and hundreds of civil rights, feminist, and other social justice organizations such as the Feminist Majority Foundation, NAACP, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the NOW, American Federation of Teachers, and Planned Parenthood Federation have publicly opposed Gorsuch due to his consistent rulings putting corporations above women, workers and everyday people.
Supreme Court Sends Transgender Rights Case Back to Lower Court
On Monday the Supreme Court announced that they will no longer hear the case of transgender student Gavin Grimm, sending the case back to the appeal’s court for further consideration in light of the Trump administration’s rescinding of Title IX protections for transgender students.
Uncategorized
Neil Gorsuch, Dangerous for Women, Nominated to Supreme Court
Thought to be even more conservative than Scalia, Gorsuch considers himself to be an originalist, meaning he attempts to interpret the Constitution as it was written by the founders, a fact that leaves many women’s rights activists concerned, as the 19th amendment granting the right to vote is the only explicit Constitutional protection for women.
Fetal Heartbeat Abortion Ban Awaits Governor’s Signature in Ohio
A bill that would outlaw abortion after the first detectable fetal heartbeat passed the Ohio legislature Tuesday and is awaiting signature on Governor John Kasich’s desk.
Supreme Court Will Hear Case of Transgender Student Barred from School Restroom
The Supreme Court announced last week that it will hear the case of Gavin Grimm, a 17-year-old transgender student who was barred from using the boys’ restroom at his Virginia high school.
Virginia Board of Health Removes Surgical Center Building Requirements for Abortion Providers
Yesterday the Virginia Board of Health voted 11-to-4 to remove the unconstitutional outpatient surgical center building requirements imposed on clinics that perform abortions.
Texas Placed Under Federal Supervision, Tries to Reinstate Draconian Voter ID Law
On Friday, Texas’ Attorney General filed a petition requesting that the United States Supreme Court reinstate the state’s draconian voter ID law, SB 14, following the remarkable move by a US District judge to put Texas under court supervision.
