It’s hard to believe that less than two months have passed since the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and effectively ended Proposition 8. It’s even harder to believe that we already need to be watching the courts again. There are of course the various marriage equality cases that are peppering the…
“I don’t recall.” From President Reagan to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, it has been the mantra of elected and appointed officials forced to testify. Should Mayor Filner’s alleged behavior indeed lead he or staffers to court, it’s a safe bet it will be uttered at least once by someone who has blocked a potentially damaging…
I was raised Catholic: First Communion, altar boy, confirmation – the whole 9 yards. My parents ran a group called “Pro-lifers For Survival,” though they were against the death penalty and for a preferential option for the poor, making them a bit more consistent on sanctity of life than many of today’s anti-abortion crusaders. Needless…
When President Obama delayed the implementation of the employer mandate for one year, Tea Party conservatives heard what they thought was the death knell of the Affordable Care Act. Had they listened more closely, they might have realized it was their own 2014 funeral march that had begun. House Speaker John Boehner and his caucus…
A lot can happen in a decade. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and to dismiss the appeal of Proposition 8 came 10 years to the day after its Lawrence v. Texas decision. June 25, 2003, you could be arrested for intimate acts with your same-sex…
Unless the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) changes its calendar, we can expect to hear decisions on Hollingsworth v. Perry (Prop. 8) and United States v. Windsor (DOMA) today or Monday, so it seems a good time to do one last run through some of the language and scenarios. “Changes their calendar?” Yes,…
The Senate Judiciary Committee begins consideration of the Gang of 8’s Immigration Reform Bill today. C-SPAN’s coverage should be must-see-TV for an audience of one: Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. Among the potentially contentious issues facing the committee is the inclusion of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). Under current law, special immigration provisions available…
Jackie Robinson in Dodgers uniform, 1954 April 15 marked the 66th anniversary of Jackie Robinson becoming the first African American to play Major League Baseball. Most years, this wouldn’t cause a ripple in an LGBT community focused on the bizarre hurdles they face in tax law. This year, however, the anniversary came with 42, a…
Politically Aware BY JOEL TRAMBLEY Court predictions hew closely to the axiom “Those who know don’t talk, those who talk don’t know.” Having nothing but an MD to back my legal analysis, I fall firmly in the latter camp. But here we go. Of the various cases about the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on…
One of the newer data points available to punditocracy is New York Times columnist Nate Silver’s Return on Investment Index. By looking at polls, population and electoral votes (among other things), Silver determines the likelihood that one voter in a given state would decide a razor-thin election, and thus where campaigns might wisely spend their…
