I have written a number of posts about the draconian laws against sex offenders that make it extremely difficult for many of the offenders to ever be rehabilitated. For example, see this about a teenager in Iowa who was put on the sex offender registry because, at age 16, he had sex with a girl [...]
Filed under: Law, Violence | Tagged: Sex-offender laws | Leave a Comment »
It’s hard to believe that the U.S. Army has something known as the “Spiritual Fitness Test.” According to an NPR report, Brig. Gen. Rhonda Cornum, director of something called “Comprehensive Soldier Fitness,” supposedly found data that “spiritual fitness has a positive impact on quality of life, on coping and on mental health.” Since that “finding,” the [...]
Filed under: GLBT, Law, Religion, Uncategorized, Workplace | Tagged: Army, Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Rhonda Cornum, Spiritual Fitness Test | Leave a Comment »
U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips’ ruling on Thursday that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is unconstitutional was a great victory. It held that the policy violated the constitutional rights of the military’s gays and lesbians and was detrimental to the military’s readiness. You would think that the ruling would please President Obama and Defense [...]
Filed under: GLBT, Law | Tagged: don't ask don't tell | Leave a Comment »
In perhaps the most telling example yet of the consequences of the Taliban’s increasing return to power, a 19-year old woman and a 25-year old man were stoned to death pursuant to Taliban orders. The two were in love. They eloped when the man was unable to persuade family members to allow him to marry [...]
Filed under: International, Law, Violence | Tagged: Afghanistan, Stoning, Taliban | Leave a Comment »
Obviously, it was a great decision by Chief U.S District Judge Vaughn Walker to rule that California’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. The ruling will certainly be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court (the NY Times gives reasons why the Supreme Court will have difficulty in reversing Judge Walker’s ruling) and, therefore, [...]
Filed under: GLBT, Law, Same-sex Marriage | Tagged: Judge Vaughn Walker, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, Prop 8 | 1 Comment »
An update to my post yesterday about the vote in the French Parliament to ban burqas: The French lower house today passed the bill by a 335 to 1 margin. (335 to 1???) The bill must still be approved by the French Senate, which is expected to vote in the week of September 20.
Filed under: Burqa and Other Veils, International, Law, Religion | Tagged: Burka, Burqa, France, Sarkozy | Leave a Comment »
The day has finally come. It has been more than a year since French President Sarkozy first proposed a ban on wearing burqas in public places. Tomorrow, the French Parliament will vote on the proposal. After some initial wavering, I came to my position on the proposed ban last July and have not changed my [...]
Filed under: Burqa and Other Veils, International, Law, Religion | Tagged: Burka, Burqa, France, Sarkozy | 5 Comments »
I’m a few days late on this, but June 30 marked the 28th anniversary of the demise of the attempt to have 38 states ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Here’s a quick summary. The language for the ERA was drafted by Alice Paul in 1923. It was introduced in every Congressional session between 1923 and [...]
Filed under: Feminism, Law, Politics, Workplace | Tagged: Equal Rights Amendment, ERA | 2 Comments »
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