In the current immigration efforts, one of the most divisive issues to arise has been how immigration rights should apply to same-sex couples. According to the Williams’ Institute at UCLA, there are approximately 40,000 same-sex bi-national couples residing in the U.S. More than two dozen countries around the world have an equal immigration system that honors [...]
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama gave his fourth State of the Union address, laying out a vision for his second term. While the address focused primarily on the recovering economy, gun violence, voting reform, education and climate change, President Obama had some strong words on women’s issues. For one thing, Obama urged the House to [...]
Seventeen months after the Defense Department ended Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, it finally released information on what benefits can be extended to same-sex partners of military members. The new list of benefits leaves out some pretty important concerns—such as health care, housing and survivor benefits—because of the ongoing existence of the Defense of Marriage Act. [...]
In 2011, Tennessee State Sen. Stacey Campfield (R) introduced Senate Bill 49, which would have made it illegal for teachers to mention or discuss anything not in line with heterosexual behavior in grades pre-K-8. Nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the preposterous legislation thankfully was dropped from consideration. After much debate, lawmakers in Tennessee finally [...]
Like most Americans, I never spent too much time thinking about female genital mutilation, or FGM, a centuries-old practice. But that changed in 2007 when I came to work at Sanctuary for Families, a New York-based nonprofit that serves victims of domestic violence and trafficking. In my job as an immigration lawyer I began interviewing [...]
So-called heartbeat bills, banning abortion from the point at which an embryonic heartbeat can be detected–usually by six weeks development–already have the reputation of being among the most unconstitutional restrictions to be proposed. They are also quickly becoming the most consistently proposed and failed pieces of abortion legislation. We are seeing a number of the [...]
Super Bowl ads are no joke. Just as the NFL’s best teams face off against each other every year, advertisers jockey for who will have the most memorable commercial, spending around $4 million for less than a minute of airtime. And all for very good reason: An estimated 108 million people watched last night’s Super [...]
The arrival of the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade has come today with the expected media commemorating (or in the case of the antis, vilifying) the occasion. From the “where are they nows” to the current state of reproductive politics, what remains glaring to me again, particularly since 2012, is the continued lack of [...]
We liked what we heard from the 44th president of the United States on the occasion of his second inaugural–especially about protecting Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security; recognizing and acting on climate change; paying women equitably; resolving global disputes peacefully; guaranteeing every citizen security and dignity; welcoming immigrants; and more. We’ve boldfaced some of our [...]
Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki is probably a nice person in real life. And I’m sure when she decided to imitate Serena Williams at a player exhibition this week, by stuffing bulky towels down her sports bra and tennis skirt, that she was doing it all in good fun with no serious offense intended. Heck, [...]
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