Blog Posts for Civil Rights Project
Know Your Rights: What is ‘heightened scrutiny’ and why is it important?
Courts have found that laws that discriminate against certain groups of people are more likely to reflect prejudice against that group than they are good public policy. Rather than being assumed to be constitutional, such laws need to be justified with exceptionally good reasons. This is called “heightened scrutiny” and has, for example, been used in cases where a racial group is being discriminated against. GLAD has consistently argued in the courts that sexual orientation deserves “heightened scrutiny.” So it was an enormous breakthrough last week when the President and the Department of Justice (DOJ) agreed with GLAD on that point- and because of that also agreed that DOMA is unconstitutional.
Something On Which GLAD & NOM Agree! Courts Have a Role to Play in the Real World
On the heels of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) announcement last week that it would no longer defend DOMA against legal challenges by GLAD and other organizations, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) issued an action alert urging members to immediately call their congressional reps to demand they defend the odious law.
“It’s a constitutional outrage,” NOM President Brian Brown wrote in the alert. “Why do we even have courts if the President himself gets to decide which laws are constitutional?” (Emphasis added).
Know Your Rights: DOJ Decides DOMA Is Unconsitutional, But DOMA Continues To Be Enforced
Given the breaking news that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will no longer defend Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), I wanted to let you know what that really means to the two lawsuits GLAD currently has in the federal courts trying to overturn DOMA—Gill and Pedersen .
Know Your Rights: An Introduction to GLAD’s Legal InfoLine
Legal InfoLine Manager Bruce Bell begins a regular weekly blog post today.
Debriefing the briefs in Gill: Colorful cast of characters aligns with DOJ in support of DOMA
As in politics, court cases sometimes make strange bedfellows. The pairing of Bush v. Gore rivals Ted Olson and David Boies on the legal challenge to California’s Prop. 8 is an obvious example. Now, there’s Barack Obama and Gary G. Kreep. Who is Gary G. Kreep, you ask? For starters, he’s the amicus counsel for the National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuals, otherwise known as NARTH. The organization is one of 17 entities that filed amicus briefs in support of the Obama Administration’s appeal in Gill v. OPM, one of our two lawsuits challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
Marriage Momentum in Rhode Island
The momentum for marriage equality was palpable at the Rhode Island State House yesterday! The sight inside warmed my heart, as I was greeted by a throng of mostly marriage equality supporters holding colorful pro-equality signs (“Vote for Love!” “Love Thy Constituent,” “Grandparents for Marriage Equality”) aloft in the Rotunda, beneath a massive banner emblazoned with the words Gov. Lincoln Chafee spoke at his inauguration last month: “When marriage equality is the law in Rhode Island we honor our forefathers who risked their lives and fortune in the pursuit of human equality.”
MA CORI Reform: Now What?
The CORI Reform bill passed in Massachusetts, now what? Aaron Tanaka, Executive Director of the Boston Workers Alliance (BWA) and co-chair of the Commonwealth CORI Coalition (of which GLAD was a member) stopped by the GLAD office this week to answer that very question.
We Couldn’t Agree More: ABA Backs Marriage Equality
“RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges state, territorial, and tribal governments to eliminate all of their legal barriers to civil marriage between two persons of the same sex who are otherwise eligible to marry.”
And with those words, the American Bar Association (ABA) today overwhelming voted to support equal marriage rights for all lesbian and gay couples— across the nation.
CORI Reform Passes the House
The Massachusetts CORI Reform Bill passed in the House Wednesday with a vote of 138 to 7! This is the last major step before the House and Senate bills are merged and sent to the Governor for his approval. GLAD is proud to share this victory with the Boston Workers Alliance and the countless other allies and supporters of the Commonwealth CORI Coalition. This reform legislation would limit employers’ access to the criminal records of job applicants and reduce the number of years until felony and misdemeanor charges can be sealed.
An Argument for Equality: Recapping DOMA Hearing Day
It was sunny and warm as we headed to the Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse on Boston’s waterfront. Eight married couples, three widowers, and as many attorneys marched into the courtroom of Federal District Judge Joseph L. Tauro. The plaintiffs – all harmed by DOMA in various ways – sat in the jury box, and in an overflow courtroom next door, spectators could see them on two large flat-screen TVs.