US DOJ expands firearms background check requirements for gun dealers
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a plan Thursday to expand background check requirements for gun dealers. The goal of the plan is to close loopholes for gun shows and online sales while simultaneously expanding the definition for firearm dealers required to be licensed. The rules, which fulfill provisions in the 2022 Bipartisan Safer [...]
Alabama House of Representatives passes bill defining sex based on reproductive systems
The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would define biological sex in binary terms based on individuals’ reproductive systems rather than their gender identity. House Bill (HB) 111 would amend the Alabama Code to define sex-based terms, provide policy relating to sex and gender identity, allow public entities to establish some [...]
Peru reverses decision to revoke visa exemption for Mexican citizens
Peru’s Foreign Ministry reversed a previous decision on Wednesday to require visas for Mexican visitors. In a press statement, originally published in Spanish, officials stated the rationale for the reversal was a potential negative impact to the country’s tourism sector and a commitment to the free movement of people and goods. The decision to abandon [...]
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost admitted on Friday in a court filing that the state’s ban on most abortions is unconstitutional after voters passed an amendment to the Ohio Constitution in November 2023 enshrining access to abortion. The issue in the pending litigation is a law passed by the Ohio legislature and signed by former [...]
Texas appeals court overturns voter fraud conviction of woman who voted despite felony conviction
The Court of Appeals of the Second Appellate District of Texas threw out a voter fraud conviction Thursday that would have put a Texas woman accused of voting while on supervised release after being convicted of a felony behind bars for five years. Texas does not allow those convicted of a felony to vote in [...]
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Tuesday that a controversial Texas law, Senate Bill (SB) 4, will remain on hold as litigation continues. SB4, the controversial Texas law that is the subject of this continued litigation, was originally signed into law in December 2023. If enforced, it would [...]
Ohio families file lawsuit against state ban on gender-affirming health care
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging an Ohio ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender minors. The organization filed the suit along with the ACLU of Ohio and Goodwin, a global law firm, on behalf of two families whose children are at risk of losing access to such care. The ACLU [...]
Explainer: Unpacking SB 4, Texas's Controversial Border Security Legislation
In recent days, an unusual state border-security law has ricocheted back and forth between US federal courts, introducing novel questions of state and federal supremacy. Long disgruntled over the federal government’s perceived inadequate efforts to curb illegal immigration along its southern border, Texas enacted a state law that would enable it to take action in [...]
Mexico files Amicus Brief in US court of appeals in opposition to Texas immigration law
Mexico filed an amicus brief Thursday with the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, voicing opposition to Texas Immigration Law SB 4, which authorizes Texas authorities to arrest and prosecute individuals suspected of illegal entry across the US-Mexico border. On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court reversed its position and allowed the Texas law [...]
Iowa lawmakers passed a bill on Tuesday that would make it a crime to enter the state after being deported or denied entry into the US. The passage puts the midwestern state on track to join Texas in enforcing state immigration laws that operate independently of the federal immigration system, meaning they are not directly [...]
