Blog Posts Archive - Page 173 of 286 - People For the American Way

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November 26, 2013 7:42 pm | By Paul Gordon

Supreme Court to Hear Challenges to ACA’s Contraception Coverage

To no one's surprise, the Supreme Court announced today that it will be deciding the legality of the ACA's provision regarding insurance coverage for contraception, which opponents claim violates the religious liberty of for-profit corporations and their owners. The Court…
November 25, 2013 10:40 pm | By Jodi Hirsh

With Warren’s Endorsement, 100% of MA delegation Supports Amending the Constitution to Overturn Citizens United

On Wednesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren co-sponsored Senator Udall’s amendment proposal, SJRES 19, adding a key progressive voice to the amendment movement. With Warren’s endorsement, the entire Massachusetts’s congressional delegation is now in support of amending the Constitution to overturn Citizens…
November 25, 2013 5:33 pm | By admin

Harvey Milk’s Legacy

The following is a guest post by Campbell, California Mayor Evan Low, a member of People For the American Way Foundation’s Young Elected Officials Network. In 2009, I became the youngest openly gay mayor as well as the youngest Asian-American…
November 22, 2013 8:40 pm | By Ben Betz

Senators Use PFAW Chart to Show Unprecedented Nature of GOP Obstruction

In their press conference following yesterday’s vote to change the Senate rules on filibusters, Democratic senators used a chart provided by PFAW to outline the extremity and unprecedented nature of the GOP’s obstruction of President Obama’s nominees. Photos by J.…
November 21, 2013 8:59 pm | By Layne Amerikaner

Isabel Allende Fights Against Banning of Her Own Book

When the teaching of Isabel Allende’s internationally renowned novel The House of the Spirits was challenged in a North Carolina school district last month, advocates from all corners spoke out in its defense, including PFAW Foundation president Michael Keegan and…
November 21, 2013 8:12 pm | By Libby

“Stand Your Ground” Comes To Ohio

On the same day that George Zimmerman appeared in a Florida court for allegedly pointing a shotgun at his girlfriend during a reported domestic dispute, “stand your ground” laws are reaching new levels of absurdity in Ohio. A state House…
November 20, 2013 6:32 pm | By Iris

Albuquerque says no to dangerous local abortion ban

Last week PFAW invited its activists to join NARAL Pro-Choice America in beating back a dangerous local abortion ban in Albuquerque, New Mexico. These efforts proved successful yesterday, as the people of Albuquerque rejected the first-ever municipal attempt to ban…
November 20, 2013 4:00 pm | By Paul Gordon

The DC Circuit Interview Chuck Grassley Didn’t Have

Iowa senator Chuck Grassley went on CNN yesterday to disseminate GOP spin on his party's unprecedented filibusters of three DC Circuit Court nominees. Grassley and his fellow Republicans are blocking the nominees not because they object to the nominees themselves,…
November 18, 2013 8:34 pm | By Paul Gordon

Why Are Arizona’s Senators Holding Up Hearings on Arizona Judges?

Arizona's federal district courts are currently operating with six of their thirteen judgeships not only vacant but also designated as judicial emergencies, so you'd think that the state's senators would want to expedite the process of confirming five nominees to…
November 15, 2013 9:10 pm | By Paul Gordon

More GOP Efforts to Distract from DC Circuit Nullification

The Heritage Foundation has come out with a new effort to distract Americans from the illegitimacy of the GOP's effort to unilaterally eliminate the president's ability to fill vacancies on the DC Circuit. The right wing's previous arguments on this…
November 15, 2013 4:47 pm | By Diallo Brooks

GOP-Led House Continues to Block Immigration Reform

It has been 140 days of inaction since the Senate passed a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform bill that moves us closer to addressing our broken immigration system. But all of this progress has stalled in the GOP-led House, where they…
November 15, 2013 4:20 pm | By Peter Montgomery

Remembering Bobbie Handman

Barbara “Bobbie” Handman, a former Vice President of PFAW and PFAW Foundation, died on Thursday. For years, Bobbie’s creative energy and fierce commitment to the First Amendment shaped the organizations’ free expression work from New York City, where she was…
November 14, 2013 5:20 pm | By Peter Montgomery

Religious Freedom Anniversary Highlights Divisions Among Current and Former Allies

A symposium on the 20th anniversary of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act hosted by First Amendment advocate Charles Haynes at the Newseum in Washington D.C. on November 6 demonstrated one premise of People For the American Way Foundation’s 12 Rules…
November 13, 2013 8:28 pm | By Layne Amerikaner

NM School District Restores ‘Neverwhere’ to Curriculum Following PFAW Foundation Advocacy

Last month, PFAW Foundation sent a letter to a school district review committee in Alamogordo, New Mexico urging them to reject attempts to remove Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere from the English curriculum. Yesterday a local television station, KRQE News 13, reported…
November 13, 2013 4:48 pm | By

They Tried to Break the Federal Government. Now They’re Going After the Courts.

The astounding show of Republican recklessness that led to last month's government shutdown made one thing very clear. The new Republican Party — the one ruled by the Tea Party — isn't interested in making our government work. They want…
November 12, 2013 11:15 pm | By Layne Amerikaner

Hawaii to Become Marriage Equality State

At the beginning of last year, freedom to marry for same-sex couples was the law of the land in only six states and DC. Now, in less than a two-week span, Illinois and Hawaii have become the 15th and 16th…
November 12, 2013 5:14 pm | By Paul Gordon

Ponnuru Uses Discredited Arguments on DC Circuit

For one of the newest entries in the Republican spin war on the D.C. Circuit, check out conservative writer Ramesh Ponnuru's column in Bloomberg yesterday. The title alone – Republicans Shouldn't Let Obama Pack the Courts – tells you something…
November 8, 2013 6:55 pm | By Jen Herrick

Our ENDA mission started with Senator Kennedy

UPDATE: ENDA got its start in 1994, but ENDA was not the first attempt in Congress to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination. Such protections were part of a broad civil rights bill introduced in 1974 that protected not only sexual orientation…
November 8, 2013 5:20 pm | By Jen Herrick

Where is Speaker Boehner hiding all the good bills like ENDA?

At a press conference yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) posed a question that you might also be wondering about: Where is the secret vault in the US House where Speaker Boehner is hiding all the good bills? Leader…
November 8, 2013 2:22 pm | By Jodi Hirsh

PA Legislator Introduces ALEC Bill That Would Block Paid Sick Leave

On Tuesday, November 12, legislators will debate Pennsylvania State Representative Seth Grove’s (R) bill that would block cities and local governments in PA from implementing paid sick days bills and other forms of paid leave (domestic violence and domestic partnership leaves, for example) that aren’t…