The Maryland House of Delegates on Friday passed a bill that would allow same-sex couples to legally marry within the state. The bill passed by a 72 to 67 vote and is set to move on to the Senate , where it must pass to receive the governor’s approval. Those opposing same-sex marriage in Maryland [...]
The UN General Assembly voted on Thursday to condemn Syria through a non-binding resolution . The resolution supports a plan advanced by the Arab League that aims to bring the situation in Syria to a close as quickly as possible by encouraging President Bashar al-Assad to step down. There were 12 votes against the resolution [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Jimmy Gurulé of the University of Notre Dame Law School says that Congress may have chosen to protect national security interests over the rights of criminal defendants in allowing a lower standard of constitutional protections under FISA…
The Canada Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal from Catholic parents who hoped to exempt their children from attending religious courses as part of a mandatory Ethics and Religious Culture Program (ERCP) in Quebec. The parents argued that the courses would teach their children things contrary to their own religious values, and had previously [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) demanded Thursday that China release Tibetan prisoners that were captured while travelling and are now being forced into political re-education camps. The exact number of those detained is not known, but it is thought to be several hundred. Those detained had gone to India to hear the teachings of the Dalai [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called for Iran to prove its commitment to not seeking nuclear weapons after giving remarks at an event marking the 15th anniversary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) on Friday. The CTBT bans the testing of nuclear weapons internationally, but it will not come into force until it is ratified by [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Pedro Pierluisi, Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, representing the territory in the US House of Representatives, argues that the coming Puerto Rico status referendum is historic because it is the first to include only the viable status options and will be taken seriously by the federal government…
The New Jersey State Assembly voted 42-33 on Thursday to legalize same-sex marriage . Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver , who sponsored the bill, indicated that she was proud the legislature was able to use the legislative process to represent all of the citizens of the state. The approved legislation was forwarded to Governor Chris Christie [...]
The Indian Supreme Court is set to hear additional arguments on Friday in a case challenging a 2009 Delhi High Court ruling decriminalizing homosexual intercourse. Anti-gay activists argue that homosexual sex is banned under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalizes unnatural “carnal intercourse.” In response, the court questioned whether the law was [...]
Carlos Perez, one of four El Universo managers convicted of libel against Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa , was granted asylum by Panama on Thursday. El Universo is the second largest newspaper in Ecuador. Two of the four men, Cesar and Nicolas Perez, have already fled to Miami. The announcement that Carlos Perez had been granted [...]
