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March 15, 2013 3:29 pm | By Jen Herrick
Why It’s Time to Dump DOMA: Jen Herrick
This piece is the seventh in a series of guest blog posts on “Why It’s Time to Dump DOMA.” In the weeks leading up to the Supreme Court arguments on the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, we’re asking friends of…
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March 14, 2013 9:18 pm | By Jen Herrick
PFAW is United for Marriage
On December 7, 2012, the Supreme Court agreed to hear cases challenging California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act. PFAW President Michael Keegan: As we saw with last month’s state ballot measures affirming marriage equality, more and…
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March 14, 2013 6:40 pm | By Kyler
Gun Violence Prevention Legislation Advances, Newtown Unites, and the Gun Lobby Doubles Down
Today, on the three month anniversary of the tragic school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation that would ban certain assault weapons and place limits on high-capacity ammunition magazines. Earlier this week, the committee also approved…
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March 13, 2013 6:13 pm | ByThe New March Madness: CPAC’s Guest List
It's getting very hard to keep track of who is and is not allowed in the conservative movement these days. The issue of how much smaller the tent is getting always comes to a head at the annual Conservative Political…
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March 13, 2013 5:41 pm | By Peter Montgomery
Advocate for Church-State Separation to Lead White House Faith Office
Good news out of the White House today for advocates of religious liberty and church-state separation: President Obama has selected Melissa Rogers as the new director of the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She will also serve as a…
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March 12, 2013 7:43 pm | By Paul Gordon
Obama Talks to Senators About Broken Judicial Confirmation Process
Yesterday, Senate Republicans finally stopped blocking a confirmation vote for Federal Circuit Court nominee Richard Taranto. It was March 29 of last year that he was first cleared by the Judiciary Committee, but Republicans refused to allow a fair yes-or-no…
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March 8, 2013 10:44 pm | By Miranda Blue
White House Urges Senate to ‘Return to the Prompt Consideration of Judicial Nominees’
Chris Kang, Senior Counsel to the President, notes on the White House blog that today markes the one-year anniversary of the day Third Circuit nominee Patty Shwartz was first approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. That means that Shwartz, an…
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March 8, 2013 8:34 pm | By Brad
Three Voter Empowerment Bills Introduced in the House
Members of the Task Force on Election Reform introduced three voter empowerment bills at the beginning of the 113th Congress in January. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi created The Task Force to develop electoral reform legislation under the D.A.R.E. initiative…
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March 8, 2013 7:40 pm | By Miranda Blue
The NRA vs. Judicial Nominees
Back in December, The New York Times’ Linda Greenhouse wrote a great article explaining how the National Rifle Association has worked in concert with Republican senators to oppose many of President Obama’s federal judicial nominees – usually without anything close…
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March 8, 2013 3:53 pm | By Miranda Blue
Michael Keegan Discusses the GOP’s Reality Problem
Last night, People For the American Way president Michael Keegan joined Rev. Al Sharpton and David Brock of Media Matters to discuss Bill O’Reilly’s most recent delusional outburst and the GOP’s reality problem. Watch: Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world…
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March 8, 2013 3:45 pm | By admin
Why It’s Time to Dump DOMA: Valeria Carranza
This piece is the sixth in a series of guest blog posts on “Why It’s Time to Dump DOMA.” In the weeks leading up to the Supreme Court arguments on the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, we’re asking friends of…
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March 6, 2013 7:27 pm | By Paul Gordon
Obama Condemns Filibuster of His DC Circuit Court Nominee
President Obama condemned today’s filibuster of Caitlin Halligan to the DC Circuit, the nation’s second most important court after the Supreme Court. He pointed out the hypocrisy of certain Republican senators who have abandoned the principles they claimed to have…
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March 5, 2013 11:27 pm | By Paul Gordon
GOP Talking Points Against Caitlin Halligan Are Off to a Bad Start
The Senate Republican Policy Committee has released the party's official talking points to justify their leadership's decision to filibuster Caitlin Halligan's nomination to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. You know you're in store for a treat when the very…
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March 4, 2013 11:28 pm | By Miranda Blue
PFAW Urges Senate to Confirm Halligan
People For the American Way today sent letters to members of the U.S. Senate urging them to vote to confirm Caitlin Halligan to sit on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The full text of the…
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March 4, 2013 10:45 pm | By Miranda BlueFive Reasons the Senate Should Confirm Caitlin Halligan
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he will ask the Senate to vote this week on the nomination of Caitlin Halligan, President Obama’s nominee to fill one of four vacancies on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals – a nomination…
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March 4, 2013 9:36 pm | By Miranda Blue
Why It’s Important to Have Diversity on the Federal Courts
The Washington Post ran a story yesterday about President Obama's successful push to bring greater diversity to the federal courts. The story quoted a conservative activist who accused the White House of "lowering their standards" in order to find diverse…
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March 4, 2013 9:29 pm | By Layne Amerikaner
PFAWF’s African American Ministers Leadership Council Submits Amicus Briefs in Marriage Equality Cases
Last week the Equal Justice Task Force of the African American Ministers Leadership Council, a program of People For the American Way Foundation, joined with a broad coalition of organizations in filing amicus briefs for the marriage equality cases being…
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March 1, 2013 4:28 pm | By admin
One Death Is Too Many: Why We Need Gun Violence Prevention Reforms
By Jamira Burley Alumna, PFAW Foundation's Young People For Program Eight years ago, in 2005, I was just a normal high school student. I faced my share of adversity, but nothing I thought I couldn't handle -- even after the…
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March 1, 2013 4:05 pm | By admin
Why It’s Time to Dump DOMA: Reverend Charles Williams II
This piece is the fifth in a series of guest blog posts on “Why It’s Time to Dump DOMA.” In the weeks leading up to the Supreme Court arguments on the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, we’re asking friends of…
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February 28, 2013 4:52 pm | By Diana
Fighting for Voting Rights, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
My family is from Selma, Alabama. My grandmother, aunt and mother (both teenagers at the time) were on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965, what the history books now record as Bloody Sunday. Due to the terrible violence that…