On Thursday, the day before America celebrated 238 years of independence, religious-right groups submitted petition signatures to put repeal of Houston’s recently passed Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) on the November ballot. HERO bars discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and other characteristics. Opponents have focused […]
Recent Blogs
50th Anniversary: What Will Texas Students Learn about the Civil Rights Movement?
Fifty years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That landmark legislation bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Its enactment came after decades of struggle by civil rights advocates in the face of virulent opposition — opposition that often resorted to brutality and even murder. President Johnson didn’t sweep away […]
Justice Ginsburg Is Right: The Hobby Lobby Decision Sends the Courts into a Minefield
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that for-profit companies like Hobby Lobby are free, because of religious objections, from the general requirement that employer insurance plans include coverage for birth control amounts to a radical redefinition of religious freedom. The court is essentially saying that women’s decisions about whether and when to have children are subject to the religious dictates of their employers. The religious or […]
SUPREME COURT’S BIRTH CONTROL DECISION REDEFINES RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
SUPREME COURT’S BIRTH CONTROL DECISION REDEFINES RELIGIOUS FREEDOM Allowing Employers to Impose Their Religious Beliefs on Women Turns ‘Religious Freedom’ on Its Head FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 30, 2014 Today’s Supreme Court decision allowing for-profit companies like Hobby Lobby Inc. to opt out of a requirement that employers include coverage for birth control in employee […]
Supreme Court’s Birth Control Decision Redefines ‘Religious Freedom’
Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in a 5-4 decision, that for-profit companies like Hobby Lobby can opt out of the requirement that employers include coverage for birth control in their employee health insurance plans. We just sent out the following press release criticizing this reckless decision. SUPREME COURT’S BIRTH CONTROL DECISION REDEFINES RELIGIOUS FREEDOM […]
