Tag: Gay Rights

May 6, 2022

Will Demise of “Roe” Be a Death Knell for Contraception, Marriage Rights?

In his explosive draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which was leaked to Politico, Justice Samuel Alito overrules Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. His draft holds that abortion is no longer a constitutional right and leaves the fate of those who seek abortions to the vagaries of state laws. “We therefore hold that the Constitution does not… Read more »

February 7, 2022

Biden Should Replace Breyer With a True Progressive

As we await President Joe Biden’s nomination to fill the Supreme Court seat that Stephen Breyer will vacate this summer, many commentators are saying the nominee will not alter the ideological balance of the court. The 6 to 3 split in favor of the right-wingers will not change. But each new member transforms the dynamics… Read more »

January 15, 2017

Smooth-Talking Jeff Sessions Can’t Hide Disturbing Record

Although Jeff Sessions’ confirmation as attorney general of the United States by the GOP-controlled Senate is a foregone conclusion, it is still important to analyze his Senate Judiciary Committee testimony, which shed a troubling light on his positions. In his responses to the senators’ questions, Sessions loudly protested the idea that he has ever embraced… Read more »

August 8, 2010

Landmark Ruling Declares Prop 8 Unconstitutional

In a stunning, carefully crafted 136-page opinion, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker held in Perry v. Schwarzenegger that California’s Proposition 8, which outlaws same-sex marriage, is unconstitutional. The lawsuit was filed by two gay couples who sought to overturn Prop 8. Interestingly, the named defendant, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, did not defend Prop 8. Neither… Read more »

May 14, 2010

Kagan’s Troubling Record

After President Obama nominated Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court, he made a statement that implied she would follow in the footsteps of Justice Thurgood Marshall, the civil rights giant and first black Supreme Court justice. Kagan served as a law clerk for Marshall shortly after she graduated from Harvard Law School. Specifically, Obama said… Read more »

January 15, 2010

Keeping Same-Sex Marriage in the Dark

On Wednesday, a conservative majority of the Supreme Court overturned a ruling made by a federal trial judge that would have allowed limited television coverage of a trial that will decide the fate of California’s Proposition 8. The trial, which is currently proceeding in San Francisco, is one of the most significant civil rights cases… Read more »