The US Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments in the Mahmoud v. Taylor case concerning the viability of religious opt-outs from LGBTQ+ curriculum in public schools. In the brief for the petitioners, the parents argue that “gender and sexuality are topics of enormous religious importance” and that “decisions related to these topics can have life-changing [...]
Search Results for: same-sex
Culture Wars, Public Schools, and Religious Supremacy at the Supreme Court
On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court heard a challenge brought by parents arguing that a Maryland School Board violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause by not allowing children to opt out of exposure to books that portray gay, lesbian and trans folks as worthy of dignity and equality. There are numerous complex legal doctrines [...]
Savings Law Clauses Block Rights Progression in Caribbean Countries
On March 25, Trinidad and Tobago’s Court of Appeal overturned a High Court ruling that the country’s colonial-era “Buggery and Serious Indecency laws” are unconstitutional. The decision brought worldwide scrutiny and criticisms about backsliding human rights and what many rights groups deem the “re-criminalization of homosexuality.” The Court of Appeal’s reasoning in the decision is [...]
Poland president asks constitutional tribunal to review criminal amendment on LGBTQ+ hate crime
Polish President Andrzej Duda sent a bill to the Constitutional Tribunal Thursday for review, seeking to expand on hate crimes provisions by adding sexual orientation, gender and other categories to the list of protected groups. The tribunal will consider whether the bill violates the constitutional right to free speech. The current Polish Penal Code includes [...]
US federal judge stops enforcement of Iowa school book ban again
A US federal judge on Tuesday once again blocked enforcement of an Iowa law that required the removal of books describing sexual acts from public school libraries. US District Judge Stephen Locher issued the preliminary injunction after reconsidering the law, known as Senate File 496, under instructions from a federal appeals court that had vacated [...]
Japan Osaka court holds same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional
The Osaka High Court held that Japan’s lack of recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional on Tuesday. The Osaka High Court is the fifth court to rule that the ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional after similar rulings in the high courts of Sapporo, Tokyo, Fukuoka and Nagoya. While Presiding Judge Kumiko Honda upheld the [...]
US President Trump cuts federal funding to UPenn over transgender sports policies
The Trump administration halted $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania Wednesday in response to the university’s transgender sports policies. The announcement was first reported by Fox News and later reposted by Rapid Response 47 on X (formerly Twitter). Rapid Response 47 is an account created by the Trump administration to respond to [...]
International Students Deserve Equal Free Speech Protections
The First Amendment is the crown jewel of the United States Constitution, which is in danger of being pulled out of the crown. The Amendment safeguards a range of liberties, including religious freedom, the right to assemble, and the right to petition the government. However, the words “Congress shall make no law … abridging the [...]
Japan high court declares denial of same-sex marriage unconstitutional
Japan’s Nagoya High Court ruled on Friday that the country’s lack of legal recognition for same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. This ruling marks the fourth consecutive high court decision to declare the current government policy unconstitutional following similar verdicts in Tokyo, Fukuoka and Sapporo. The appellants argued that the current provisions of Japan’s Civil Code and Family [...]
Persistent Sexist Laws Undermine Global Progress on Women's Rights Despite Some Gains
Edited by: James Joseph | Managing Editor for Long-Form Content In this article for International Women’s Day, Alexis Boddy – JURIST UK correspondent, reports on the Equality Now report which highlights the persistence of sexist laws worldwide, thirty years after the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, with significant rollback of women’s [...]