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November 6, 2013 5:14 pm | By Jen Herrick
Scenes from the floor on the second day of ENDA debate
Yesterday Senate debate continued on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. No new votes to report, but here are two of the many floor speeches. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), ENDA's lead sponsor: Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), supporting ENDA and calling out the…
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November 6, 2013 3:38 pm | By adminOur Country Deserves Better than ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws
The following is a guest post from Elder Jabari Paul, a member of People For the American Way’s African American Ministers in Action, following last week’s Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on Stand Your Ground laws. My perspective on Stand Your…
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November 5, 2013 10:31 pm | By Layne AmerikanerIllinois to Become 15th Marriage Equality State
It’s been an exciting few days for supporters of LGBT equality. Following last night’s Senate cloture vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, today the Illinois House passed a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry, setting the stage for Illinois to…
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November 5, 2013 9:44 pm | By Brian TashmanKen Cuccinelli’s Nativist Rhetoric Backfires Badly In General Election
Cross-posted on Right Wing Watch Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli appears to be paying the price for his anti-immigrant record. Cuccinelli backed Arizona’s draconian SB 1070 as the state attorney general and as a state senator he proposed several…
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November 5, 2013 8:57 pm | By Paul Gordon
Scalia’s Nightmare: Evil Foreigners Impose Marriage Equality on U.S.
The Supreme Court held oral arguments this morning in a case about chemical weapons and the authority of Congress to pass laws effectuating treaty terms. This is a serious case about whether the Court will overrule a nearly 100 year-old…
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November 5, 2013 6:51 pm | By Jen Herrick
Scenes from the floor on the first day of ENDA debate
Yesterday marked the first day of Senate debate on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and ENDA survived its first major hurdle – a strongly bipartisan 61-30 cloture vote to end a Republican filibuster on proceeding to consideration of the bill. Here…
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November 4, 2013 10:09 pm | By adminDiscrimination Has No Place In Our Hearts or Our Workplaces
The following is a guest post by Rev. Dorothy Chaney, a licensed Baptist minister in Miami and a member of People For the American Way’s African American Ministers in Action. I have lived in Florida all my life, but here’s…
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November 4, 2013 9:54 pm | By Layne AmerikanerYouth Leaders and Faith Leaders Urge Support for ENDA
UPDATE: Following the Senate's successful 64-32 vote to pass ENDA on 11/07/2013, PFAW and AAMIA sent their support letters to the House. YEO Action, now with 34 members, and YP4 action, now with 51 members and allies, did the same.…
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November 4, 2013 9:20 pm | By Miranda BlueVideo: PFAW President Discusses Rafael Cruz and Tea Party Extremism
Today, PFAW’s Right Wing Watch posted new footage of Sen. Ted Cruz’s father, Raphael Cruz, denying evolution, claiming that gay rights advances endanger children and warning that the United States government is controlled by Satan. These are only the most…
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November 4, 2013 9:13 pm | By Miranda BlueJudges Delayed, Justice Denied: PFAW’s Drew Courtney Discusses the DC Circuit on MSNBC
People For the American Way Director of Communications Drew Courtney appeared on Disrupt with Karen Finney this weekend to discuss Senate Republicans’ reckless obstruction of President Obama’s nominees to the important Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.…
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November 4, 2013 4:43 pm | By Paul Gordon
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Abortion Rights Challenge
Good news from the Supreme Court this morning: the Justices have dismissed an Oklahoma abortion rights case (Cline v. Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice) as "improvidently granted." The Oklahoma Supreme Court had struck down as unconstitutional a state law designed…
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November 1, 2013 9:16 pm | By Diallo Brooks
Immigration Reform Has New Life, But Will House Republican Leaders Cave to Extremists?
Immigration reform activists and President Obama have renewed the push for Congress to act on much-needed immigration legislation this year. We now see new movement as three Republicans have joined numerous Democrats in the House in co-sponsoring legislation that moves…
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November 1, 2013 7:40 pm | By Paul Gordon
New DC Circuit Decision Shows Why GOP Wants to Block New Judges
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a divided ruling today that the Affordable Care Act's contraception coverage provision violates the religious liberty of two business owners. The majority ruling came from far-right Bush-43…
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November 1, 2013 4:01 pm | By adminWhy We Need ENDA
The following is a guest post by Enbar Cohen, City of Aventura Commissioner and member of affiliate People For the American Way Foundation’s Young Elected Officials Network. As Congress prepares to consider the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), I have been…
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October 31, 2013 6:13 pm | By Paul Gordon
The GOP’s Rephrased D.C. Circuit Deception
Proponents of blocking President Obama from being able to fill the three vacancies on the D.C. Circuit rely on a number of thoroughly discredited arguments. One of their favorites is that the court doesn't have nearly enough cases to warrant…
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October 30, 2013 10:05 pm | By Paul Gordon
GOP Senators Continue to Pretend the Judicial Conference Doesn’t Exist
Several Republican senators have gone on the record saying they will filibuster the president's nominations to the D.C. Circuit because (they claim) its caseload is supposedly so much lower than many other circuit courts. PFAW has released a memo debunking…
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October 30, 2013 8:20 pm | By Miranda BlueMore Evidence that the ‘Court Efficiency Act’ Isn’t So Efficient
Unable to come up with any legitimate reason to filibuster President Obama’s three nominees to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Senate Republicans have landed on a not-so-convincing excuse: They claim that the court has too many judges…
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October 30, 2013 8:04 pm | By Paul Gordon
Judicial Expert Confirms that D.C. Circuit Caseload Has Not Fallen
With all the spin coming out of the GOP about the D.C. Circuit having a lower caseload than during the Bush years – and thus not needing to have its vacancies filled – it's worth remembering what was said last…
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October 30, 2013 5:29 pm | By Stephen FitzmauriceCruz Holds Up Government Over Good Government Measure
There is no shortage of senators opposed to the DISCLOSE Act. But while any of them will no doubt bloviate on why shining a light on campaign ad expenditures somehow limits free speech, junior Texas Senator Ted Cruz has taken…
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October 30, 2013 5:05 pm | By Miranda BlueThe Republican Argument For Filibustering DC Circuit Nominees Is Bogus. Here Are The Numbers To Prove It
A growing number of Senate Republicans are threatening to filibuster all three of President Obama’s nominees to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, an influential federal court that is currently operating with three of its eleven active seats…