The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) announced Tuesday a proposed emergency rule that would disallow the use of “X” as a substitute for male or female on state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards. In its filing, the DRA asserted that the emergency rule is necessary for the Office of Driver Services (Office) to [...]
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In the Halls of Brazil's Senate: Unpacking the Legacy of the US Constitution
To date, America’s greatest contribution to the world has been its Constitution. The importance of this document far surpasses such other cultural achievements as the Moon landing, the telephone, GPS, rubber vulcanization, and Henry Ford’s mass production lines. It is more important, even, than Gone With the Wind, and the hamburger — even though this [...]
A US federal appeals court halted the release of Robert Rundo, an alleged leader of the white supremacist group Rise Above Movement (RAM), on Thursday, reversing a decision by a US district judge in California that had led to his brief release. This decision came following an emergency motion from federal prosecutors, which cited Rundo’s “grave risk [...]
ACLU claims South Carolina prison policy banning interviews violates First Amendment
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU of South Carolina filed a lawsuit against the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) on Thursday, claiming the department’s ban on news media interviews for incarcerated people violates the First Amendment to the US Constitution. The department’s policy explicitly prohibits “personal contact interviews” with inmates, and in [...]
West Virginia House of Delegates passes bill allowing K-12 teachers to carry firearms
West Virginia’s House of Delegates passed a bill on Wednesday allowing teachers and other school staff to carry guns in K-12 public schools as “school protection officers.” Under the bill, designated staff members would be armed “to defend the school in case of an active shooter event.” Supporters of the bill argue that not every [...]
US Supreme Court leaves admissions plan in place at Virginia high school
The US Supreme Court left in place an admissions policy at an elite public high school in Virginia on Tuesday after the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the admissions practice. The plaintiffs in the case argued that the school’s policy discriminates against Asian Americans. Justice Samuel Alito dissented from the majority [...]
ACLU files lawsuit over Virginia guidelines for transgender students
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia filed two lawsuits Thursday against the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) on behalf of two transgender students challenging the department’s 2023 model policies. Virginia law authorizes VDOE to issue model policies regarding the treatment of transgender students, and the policies are required to reflect “evidence-based best practices” for [...]
The US Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments this week in a landmark case that will determine whether states are entitled to remove former president and current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump from election ballots over his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when the US Capitol was stormed by protesters. In anticipation of the [...]
Iowa lawmakers decline to advance bill removing gender identity as protected class
Iowa lawmakers declined to advance a piece of legislation on Wednesday that would have removed gender identity as a protected class under the state’s civil rights law. In a 3-0 tally, a subcommittee of the Iowa legislature’s Judiciary Committee voted against moving the bill forward. Although the bill sought to add a new category to [...]
Civilization and Human 'Oneness' — Templates for a Viable System of International Law
“God loves from Whole to Part, but human soul Must rise from Individual to the Whole.” Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man Though poorly understood, humankind can survive on this planet only by embracing viable systems of international law. More than anything else, these world-centered legal systems must be founded upon axiomatic principles of human [...]