Archive for employment discrimination
Pawlenty and Malawi
Over at 365gay.com, you can find my just-published column tearing into Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty for vetoing a bill that would simply have recognized the humanity of the LGBT citizens of his state, by allowing aggrieved partners to decide what’s to be done with their deceased spouses’ remains, and to have same basic right to [...]
National Legal Panel at Equality Forum: Opening Wide for a Fire Hose of Information
Did Lambda Legal’s Executive Director, Kevin Cathcart, really “start the LGBT movement for legal rights,” as National Law Panel moderator Brad Sears playfully suggested at the opening of last night’s Equality Forum event?
If he didn’t, he certainly has a deep understanding of what most people think of as the legal “movement” – the litigation that’s [...]
McDonnell: No Discrimination Against Gays (Really?)
VA Governor Bob McDonnell (whose topsy-turvy actions on gay rights I’ve chronicled here) now says that there would be no need for a state law protecting the LGBT community against discrimination. Why not? According to this quote (h/t Joe.My.God), there’s no problem in need of a solution:
I don’t know that we need it based on [...]
When Conservatives Implode: The McDonnell-Cuccinelli Death Cage Match
Yesterday, I wrote about the events leading up to Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s capitulation on anti-gay discrimination. Here’s a one-sentence recap: First, McDonnell rescinds the Executive Order that protected gays and lesbians from job discrimination in state government; then, emboldened by this action, state attorney general Ken Cuccinelli thunders to the state’s universities that their [...]
“Sleeping Giant” of Student Protests Awakes in VA — McDonnell (Sort of) Backs Down
As regular readers of this blog know, I’ve been following the story of how the Virginia Governor, Bob McDonnell, and his Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, have been working overtime to set the clock back on anti-gay discrimination. First, McDonnell issued an Executive Order that conspicuously omitted “sexual orientation” from the list of classes that the [...]
Virginia’s Slide into the Dark Ages Continues Apace
First, Va. Reactionary-in-Moderate’s-Clothing Governor Bob McDonnell issued an executive order pointedly omitting sexual orientation from the list of permitted grounds for firing state employees. In so doing, he rescinded the earlier order from his predecessor, Gov. Tim Kaine. To be clear, that means that the state can: Ask interviewees for state positions if they’re gay; [...]
Public Health and Welfare in State of the Union Speech
Despite my current frustration with Obama — or maybe because of it — I watched the entire State of the Union speech. I’m sure it’s being endlessly picked apart by all kinds of talking heads, bloggers, and the like. Me, I’m watching the Australian Open. (The indomitable Serena Williams just beat back a tough challenge [...]
Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Path to Marriage Equality
Using comments from legal scholars and political commentators as well as case law, this article makes a persuasive argument that anti-discrimination laws have led to marriage equality decisions in state courts. The author, Thomas Messner of the Heritage Foundation, sees this connection as a reason to oppose the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (”ENDA”), which, according to [...]
A Real-Life Conflict Between Religion and Marriage Equality
This story from FOX News illustrates the conflict that can arise in the workplace where anti-discrimination norms bump up against strongly held religious views. In sum, one Brookstone employee, Peter Vidala, didn’t appreciate another’s telling him that she had gotten married to her same-sex spouse. (All relevant events in this story took place in Massachusetts.) [...]
On and On and On….
Here’s a story you likely know, at least in broad outline:
During his campaign, Obama promises progress on gay rights. Once in office, his rhetoric cools and — to be charitable — he doesn’t seem to be moving very fast. Then he makes things much worse with a dreadful brief his Justice Department files in defending [...]