Civil Rights

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A wave of police killings of young black men in 2014 prompted 24 states to quickly pass some type of law enforcement reform, but many declined to address the most glaring issue: police use of force.... Read More

WASHINGTON - The House could return to Capitol Hill early to consider legislation to overhaul policing policies in response to the killing of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody and the nationwide protest and violence that has followed. Last... Read More

WASHINGTON - A coalition of hundreds of national civil rights organizations urged Congress on Monday to address systemic police violence against African-American people in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis last... Read More

WASHINGTON - As state governments weigh their responses to the coronavirus pandemic, religious groups across America have voiced concerns that lockdown measures could infringe on their constitutional rights. Last month, police broke up a gathering of 16 people at Lighthouse... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared to be divided Wednesday over the future of a pair of Trump administration rules that allow employers who cite a religious or moral objection to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he will sign an executive order “to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States” because of the coronavirus. “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer urged the National Governors Association Friday to direct its members to collect demographic data on racial disparities and the coronavirus outbreak. Hoyer's request, directed to Govs. Larry Hogan, of Maryland, and Andrew Cuomo,... Read More

WASHINGTON — All eyes were on Chief Justice John Roberts Wednesday as the Supreme Court appeared to be sharply divided over issues raised during the first major abortion case of the Trump presidency. The case out of Louisiana could test... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear its first abortion case since President Donald Trump’s two appointees took their seats, a dispute that could mark the first step in a gradual retreat from Roe vs. Wade. Justices will... Read More

The House, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion, passed legislation that would classify lynching as a federal hate crime. The Emmett Till Antilynching Act, introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., passed on a vote of 410-4. The Act is named for... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday it would decide another clash between religion and gay rights, this time involving Philadelphia’s termination of a contract with Catholic Social Services over the group’s refusal to place foster children with same-sex couples.... Read More

WASHINGTON — Top U.S. technology companies are shifting their focus to state capitals to shape emerging data privacy laws as progress on a federal bill has slowed. Trade groups representing consumer-oriented technology companies such as Amazon, Google and Facebook, as... Read More

ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld the limited injunction that allowed 17 ex-felons, including some from Orange County, to register to vote despite not being able to afford the fines and fees imposed as part of their... Read More

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state senators Wednesday approved a bill that would begin regulating the use of facial-recognition programs by local and state governments. Sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Joe Nguyen, Senate Bill 6280 is one of a series of... Read More

WASHINGTON — House lawmakers voted Thursday to remove the deadline for states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, legislation that would enshrine in the Constitution a ban on sex discrimination. The measure, however, is unlikely to receive approval from the... Read More

WASHINGTON - Federal and state officials are hurrying to figure out a long-term quarantine procedure for passengers arriving at U.S. airports who potentially carry the deadly coronavirus without violating their rights. As the epidemic grows, they are considering quarantine within... Read More

WASHINGTON — The House will attempt to revive the Equal Rights Amendment later this week, with a vote to remove the 1982 deadline for state ratification and reopen the process for amending the Constitution to prohibit discrimination based on sex.... Read More

RICHMOND, Va. — Advocates for people who identify as LGBTQ cheered Thursday as Virginia’s General Assembly passed comprehensive legislation protecting them from discrimination in housing, employment and public spaces. “This is a historic day and bright moment for the whole... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The attorneys general of Virginia, Illinois and Nevada are suing in federal court for an order that would add the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. On January 27 Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the... Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court will review a Philadelphia federal judge’s decision last year to block new Trump administration rules that would have let almost any employer deny female workers no-cost birth control coverage by citing religious and moral objections. In... Read More

RICHMOND, Va. — Nearly five decades after legislatures began ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment, Virginia became the key 38th state to do so Wednesday — giving it the three-fourths support needed to make it part of the U.S. Constitution. But... Read More

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan quartet of House members is urging national security officials to start an investigation into whether foreign adversaries are engaging in an effort to incite anti-Semitism and civil unrest across the United States. Democratic Reps. Kathleen Rice,... Read More

WASHINGTON — More than 200 lawmakers, mostly Republicans, filed an amicus brief Thursday urging the Supreme Court to upend the precedents set by two landmark abortion rights cases, elevating abortion as a campaign issue ahead of this fall’s elections. The... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court refused Monday to hear a major case on homeless, letting stand a ruling that protects their right to sleep on the sidewalk or in public parks if no other shelter is available. The justices without... Read More

RALEIGH, N.C. — Add North Carolina’s attorney general to the list of those who don’t think the University of North Carolina System should give $2.5 million to the N.C. Sons of Confederate Veterans to preserve and display the Silent Sam... Read More

WASHINGTON - Civil rights leaders and members of Congress urged that tougher policies be adopted to oppose human rights abuses in China and Hong Kong during a congressional hearing earlier this week. They accused China of mass incarceration of political... Read More

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., proposed legislation Tuesday to stop Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from advancing rules that critics say could hurt efforts to fight sexual harassment and assaults on college campuses. Slotkin is one of several members... Read More

ATLANTA — Judges on the federal appeals court in Atlanta on Thursday peppered lawyers with questions in a case that could set an important precedent for bathroom access by transgender high school students. Two judges, both members of the more... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court meets Friday to consider for the first time whether the Constitution gives homeless people a right to sleep on the sidewalk. The justices are weighing an appeal of a much-disputed ruling by the 9th Circuit... Read More

WASHINGTON - A Virginia commission tasked with researching racist laws adopted in the state's past recommended Thursday that scores of them be officially repealed, including measures that prevented black voters from casting ballots and prohibited interracial marriage. "The devastating long-term... Read More