Civil Rights

ABC News reports: The NYPD made about 280 arrests during Tuesday night/Wednesday morning protests, a lower tally than previous nights, as the city came under an 8 p.m. curfew and stopped for-hire vehicles, CitiBikes and rental scooters that vandals had used to cause trouble. There were fewer officers injured as well with only two suffering minor injuries. There was less …

From former President George W. Bush: Laura and I are anguished by the brutal suffocation of George Floyd and disturbed by the injustice and fear that suffocate our country. Yet we have resisted the urge to speak out, because this is not the time for us to lecture. It is time for us to listen. It is time for America …

Philadelphia’s ABC News reports: Officials in Philadelphia closed off much of Center City after peaceful protests over George Floyd’s death turned into a weekend filled with destruction, with store windows smashed, merchandise taken from stores and police vehicles and structures set afire. And while looters continued to break into stores across the Philadelphia area on Sunday, it was a much …

From civil right icon Rep. John Lewis: “Sixty-five years have passed, and I still remember the face of young Emmett Till. It was 1955. I was 15 years old — just a year older than him. What happened that summer in Money, Mississippi, and the months that followed — the recanted accusation, the sham trial, the dreaded verdict — shocked …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: MSNBC’s Ali Velshi, CNN commentator Keith Boykin were among journalists recounting being hit by rubber bullets, attacked, and in some cases arrested while covering protests. As tensions escalated across the United States during protests over the death of George Floyd, many journalists found themselves in the crosshairs of covering an unprecedented moment with some getting hit …

The Daily Beast reports: Thousands of protesters squared off against police here [Minneapolis] late Tuesday, just hours after disturbing footage emerged showing a white police officer kneeling on an unarmed black man’s neck for several minutes before he died. The white officer in the video has been identified as Derek Chauvin. CBS News Minnesota reports Chauvin is being represented by …

Bloomberg News reports: The Republican National Committee and two other groups filed a lawsuit against California Governor Gavin Newsom to block his executive order allowing mail-in ballots at the November polls, calling it an “illegal and brazen power grab.” Following the coronavirus outbreak, the Democratic governor said earlier this month that every registered voter in the state would receive a …

Tallahassee’s NBC News affiliate reports: A federal judge has ruled that the Florida law requiring felons to pay legal fees as part of their sentences before regaining the vote is unconstitutional for those unable to pay, or unable to find out how much they owe. The 125-page ruling issued late Sunday by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle in Tallahassee …

The Daily Beast reports: In its final 20 minutes, the documentary film AKA Jane Roe delivers quite the blow to conservatives who have weaponized the story of Jane Roe herself—real name, Norma McCorvey—to argue that people with uteruses should have to carry any and all pregnancies to term. “This is my deathbed confession,” she chuckles, sitting in a chair in …

NBC News reports: Aimee Stephens, the Detroit-area funeral home worker whose firing led to a Supreme Court case that could decide the employment rights of millions of transgender and gender-nonconforming people, died Tuesday, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which was working on her case. She was 59. Stephens had kidney disease for several years and required lengthy dialysis …

Courthouse News reports: An Italian lawyer who was sued after talking on the radio about his aversion to hiring gay people failed Thursday to secure relief from the EU’s highest court. “Homosexuals are abnormal, they have physical and genetic anomalies,” lawyer Carlo Taormina had said in a 2013 broadcast of the Italian shock jock radio program “La Zanzara.” Taormina went …

The Washington Blade reports: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Saturday signed a bill that adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s nondiscrimination law. “This legislation sends a strong, clear message — Virginia is a place where all people are welcome to live, work, visit, and raise a family,” said Northam in a statement. “No longer will LGBTQ Virginians …

Courthouse News reports: Idaho Governor Brad Little Monday evening signed into law two bills that place new restrictions on transgender individuals in the state. The first of the two bills the Republican governor signed targets a transgender person’s ability to request a birth certificate change. Under the new law, transgender individuals will no longer be able to change their listed …

Coconuts Singapore reports: Members of Singapore’s LGBT community reacted with dismay today to word that gay sex remains a criminal offense after the high court dismissed three challenges to the antiquated law. The court’s reported ruling comes four months after the court heard arguments from attorneys representing three men: DJ Johnson Ong; a retired doctor named Roy Tan; and Bryan …

The Washington Blade reports: A bill that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to Virginia’s nondiscrimination law cleared its final legislative hurdle on Wednesday. Senate Bill 868, which state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) introduced, passed in the Virginia House of Delegates. State Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County) introduced a version of the Virginia Values Act in his chamber. Virginia …

The Washington Post reports: The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear a dispute over a Philadelphia Catholic agency that won’t place foster children with same-sex couples. The justices will review an appeals court ruling that upheld the city’s decision to stop placing children with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s agency because it would not permit same-sex couples to serve as …

The Associated Press reports: A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that roughly 3 in 4 Americans support the gender equality amendment, which is now back before Congress following Virginia’s ratification of the measure in January. But nearly the same amount, 72%, incorrectly believe the Constitution now guarantees men and women equal rights under …

The Associated Press reports: In a bid to revive the Equal Rights Amendment, the House on Thursday approved a measure removing a 1982 deadline for state ratification and reopening the process to amend the Constitution to prohibit discrimination based on sex. “There is no expiration date on equality,″ said Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier of California, the resolution’s sponsor. Nearly 50 …

Vox reports: Congress imposed a 1982 deadline on states hoping to ratify the ERA, though there’s doubt about whether this deadline is binding. Ginsburg’s comments on Monday suggest that she believes this 1982 deadline should be considered binding. “I would like to see a new beginning” for ERA ratification, the justice said. “There’s too much controversy about latecomers,” Ginsburg added. …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: The Georgia Department of Driver Services has agreed to make it easier for Puerto Ricans and applicants from other U.S. territories to get driver’s licenses under the terms of a federal lawsuit settlement announced Monday. The department agreed to allow residents from the territories — who are U.S. citizens — to transfer their driver’s licenses to …