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March 27, 2012 9:43 pm | By Jen Herrick
Standing up for the freedom to marry, access to healthcare, and immigration equality
Judge Jeffrey White of the Northern District of California, a Bush nominee, ruled last month against the federal-recognition component of the Defense of Marriage Act, saying: The Court has found that DOMA unconstitutionally discriminates against same-sex married couples. In so…
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March 27, 2012 8:34 pm | By Ben Betz
The Roberts Court’s 2011-12 Term: Is the Roberts Court Really a Court?
This piece originally appeared on Huffington Post. Eric Segall, a professor of constitutional law at Georgia State University, has just written a provocative book called Supreme Myths: Why the Supreme Court Is Not a Court and Its Justices Are Not…
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March 27, 2012 5:58 pm | By Justin
PFAW Rallies to Uphold Healthcare Law
PFAW staff and supporters joined the throngs of supporters of the Affordable Care Act outside the Supreme Court today, while the Justices were hearing the second day of arguments on the constitutionality of the law. Hundreds of activists chanted and…
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March 26, 2012 6:23 pm | By Justin
PFAW Rallies for Corporate Political Spending Disclosure at SEC
PFAW joined a group of bipartisan organizations and public figures at a rally outside the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington today to demand that the agency use its authority to require publicly-traded corporations to disclose their political spending.…
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March 23, 2012 9:18 pm | By Kristen Saldarini
Undoing the Affordable Health Care Act Would Be Unhealthy
On the second anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Health Care Act, the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments against its constitutionality, even though legal experts from across the ideological spectrum have concluded the Act is constitutional. Now, Americans…
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March 23, 2012 6:24 pm | By Jen Herrick
Bullying, harassment, and hate crimes – got data?
In an effort to ensure equal opportunity, the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection surveys schools nationwide on a range of topics including staffing and finance; college and career readiness; and discipline. The most recent survey, for the 2009-2010…
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March 23, 2012 5:12 pm | By Miranda Blue
Illuminating Rick Santorum and the Religious Right’s Vision for America
Last weekend, People For the American Way’s Right Wing Watch captured video of prominent Louisiana pastor Dennis Terry introducing Rick Santorum at an event with an incendiary sermon in which he insists that those who don’t believe that America is…
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March 22, 2012 9:04 pm | By Paul Gordon
A Jury of One’s (Corporate) Peers
David Oscar Markus's Southern District of Florida Blog highlights an interesting back-and-forth between Justice Samuel Alito and Carter Phillips, an attorney for the Southern Union Company. The issue had to do with how a judge determines the extent of criminal…
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March 22, 2012 7:54 pm | By Paul Gordon
GOP’s Under-the-Radar Sabotage of America’s Courts
This afternoon, pursuant to their agreement last week, Republicans allowed votes on three district court judicial nominations this afternoon. David Nuffer of (District of Utah), Ronnie Abrams (Southern District of New York), and Rudolph Contreras (District of Washington DC) had…
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March 22, 2012 3:40 pm | By Paul Gordon
GOP Boycotts Judiciary Committee Yet Again
This morning, Americans looking for signs of progress in resolving the historic vacancy crisis harming our nation's federal courts instead saw another monkey wrench thrown into the gears of justice: Just as they did a week ago, Republicans on the…
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March 22, 2012 3:31 pm | By Jen Herrick
UPDATE: Minnesota fighting the voting rights battle on multiple fronts
UPDATE: After more than 9 hours of floor debate, at just after 2 am yesterday, the Minnesota House passed its version of the voter ID constitutional amendment (HF 2738), sponsored by ALEC State Chairwoman Mary Kiffmeyer. The Senate moved on…
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March 22, 2012 2:00 pm | By Jen Herrick
“Gut and go” used to move up proof of citizenship in Kansas
In 2011, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed into law HB 2067. Sponsored by Representative Lance Kinzer (an ALEC member), this law contained requirements for ID when voting and proof of citizenship when registering. While the effective date for ID was…
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March 21, 2012 10:48 pm | By Calvin Sloan
ALEC: The Hidden Player Behind ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws
The tragic death of Trayvon Martin – the 17 year old African American who was slain while walking down the sidewalk of a gated community – has shocked the nation, and has drawn international attention to the role of race…
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March 20, 2012 10:47 pm | By Paul Gordon
Roberts Court Pokes a Hole in the Family and Medical Leave Act
A closely divided Supreme Court today poked a hole – a small one, but a hole nonetheless – in the Family and Medical Leave Act, the milestone 1993 law guaranteeing eligible employees 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year. Passed…
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March 20, 2012 10:08 pm | By Jen Herrick
Ryan budget further exposes hypocrisy of the war on women
“There is no way for ‘experts’ in Washington to know more about the health care needs of individual Americans than those individuals and their doctors know.” Sometimes the Right’s hypocrisy is just that clear. This statement was made in the…
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March 20, 2012 9:36 pm | By Jen Herrick
Restrictive voter ID laws may impact trans people
Last October, PFAW Foundation released The Right to Vote under Attack: The Campaign to Keep Millions of Americans from the Ballot Box as part of its Right Wing Watch: In Focus series. This report reveals just how the far the…
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March 20, 2012 7:32 pm | By Jen Herrick
Voter suppression’s on the menu in Michigan
Last month we reported on the citizenship question that came up during Michigan’s primary. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for voter suppression in the Great Lakes State. Pending before the Michigan House are 3 bills that the…
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March 19, 2012 10:03 pm | By Jen Herrick
UPDATE: DOJ and Houston senator take a stand for voting rights, against ID law
UPDATE: Texas has responded to last week’s DOJ ruling against the Texas voter ID law. Attorney General Greg Abbott has amended the state’s complaint in pending litigation to not just defend the law but to also add a direct challenge…
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March 19, 2012 8:50 pm | By Jen Herrick
Former congressman, voting rights coalition, Marine speak out on voting problems in Tennessee
Former US Representative Lincoln Davis thought that the Tennessee Primary on March 6 would be an Election Day just like any other for him and his wife, Lynda. But that was not the case when they made it to their…
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March 19, 2012 8:16 pm | By Justin
Whether Supporting Incumbents or Challengers, Super PACs Put Big Money in Charge
Proponents of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling have argued that Super PACs help shake up the almost-guaranteed reelection prospects for congressional incumbents, going so far as to cast Super PACS as a way to bring about a new era…