The Maryland Senate approved legislation Thursday to legalize same-sex marriage . The bill, entitled Civil Marriage Protection Act, would alter existing legislation that validates only heterosexual marriage. Approval of the Act will give gay couples the same full rights of marriage as straight, married couples, but will allow exemptions for religious leaders who object to [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday called on the Libyan government to stop the violence directed at protesters within that nation. Pillay’s statement, directed at Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi , reminded the UN Human Rights Council of the repeated calls by numerous nations for Gaddafi to renounce the use of violence. [...]
The New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department on Thursday upheld a lower court decision allowing the surviving spouse of a same-sex marriage to inherit the deceased spouse’s estate. Kenneth Ranftle and Craig Leiby were married legally in Canada in 2008 after more than 20 years together. Ranftle died a few months later [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Thursday granted federal prosecutors’ motion to dismiss three charges against former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich in an apparent effort to simply their case before the April 20 retrial. Judge James Zagel agreed to dismiss charges of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy and one [...]
The Kansas House of Representatives on Thursday approved several new restrictions on abortion . Bills 2035 and 2281 passed overwhelmingly, in voice votes of 96 to 25 and 91 to 30 , respectively. If the bills are approved by the Senate, Kansas residents will not be able to obtain an abortion after the 20-week mark, [...]
The trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday declined a request from lawyers for accused Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo to stay the proceedings against him. The trial chamber, in a confidential ruling, rejected contentions of prosecutorial misconduct levied by Lubanga’s defense team, including allegations that prosecutors, through proxies, offered bribes [...]
A group of law professors asked Congress Wednesday to extend the Code of Conduct for United States Judges to apply to the Supreme Court . In a letter to the House and Senate Judiciary Comittees , more than 100 law professors representing 67 schools urged Congress to advance legislation to apply the Code to Supreme [...]
The number of hate groups in the US rose to more than 1,000 during 2010, according to a report released Wednesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) . The SPLC reports this is the first time that these types of groups have exceeded 1,000 since the it started its monitoring in the 1980s. According [...]
Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie (D) signed the same-sex civil unions bill into law on Wednesday, legalizing same-sex civil unions in the state. The legislation will go into effect on January 1, 2012, and extends the same rights, benefits, protections and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage to partners in a civil union. At the signing, [...]
The Indiana Senate on Tuesday approved a bill by a vote of 31-18, proposing a strict illegal immigration policy comparable to the controversial Arizona law . The bill would require individuals suspected of being illegal to provide proof of their legal status and calls for all public meetings, websites and documents to be in English [...]
