equality news stories on Newser

Pope Urges UK Bishops to Fight Gay Equality Bill

Harry Kimball — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:13:43 CST

Pope Benedict wants English and Welsh bishops to fight proposed human rights legislation with "missionary zeal." The Equality Bill, which is pending in Parliament, is intended to combat discrimination on the basis of sex, race, disability, religion, or sexual orientation, but the pontiff argues that "it actually violates the natural...

Gays Deserve Reparation Checks

Harry Kimball — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:52:12 CDT

“The time has arrived to place economic reparations for gay and lesbian Americans on the political agenda,” Jacob Appel writes in the Detroit Free Press . Equality under the law is inevitable, if still a few years out; meantime, homosexuals must be compensated for their trouble. “While the financial losses” suffered...

Bitch vs. Ditz: '08 Campaign Was a Setback for Women

Rebecca Smith Hurd — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:21:01 CST

Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin shattered the glass ceiling in politics, but the broken shards sharply undercut the feminist movement. “In the grand Passion play that was this election, both Clinton and Palin came to represent—and, at times, reinforce—two of the most pernicious stereotypes that are applied to...

Rice 'Especially Proud' of Obama

Ambreen Ali — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:30:14 CST

Condoleezza Rice delivered emotional congratulations to Barack Obama today, saying that as an African American she is “especially proud” of his victory. The secretary of State called the Democrat an inspiration, the AP reports. “Americans are not going to be satisfied until they really do form that perfect union,” she...

Ann Landers Would Advise Voting No on 8

Wesley Oliver — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:04:29 CDT

From the schoolyard to the church, Californians are debating Prop 8, which would bar homosexuals from marriage if it passes Tuesday. The Los Angeles Times opened its opinion page to five more takes on it today: Alexandra Cole, whose 8-year-old daughter polled her friends, says Prop 8's backers have done...

A Black President Will Boost Brand USA

Rob Quinn — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:58:23 CDT

Skin color is no reason to vote for anybody, Nick Kristof writes in the New York Times , but there's no denying that electing a black president would give America's image abroad a much-needed boost—"redefining the American 'brand' to be less about Guantánamo and more about equality." Almost half of...

Women Rule in Spain's New Cabinet

Jason Farago — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:31:12 CDT

So much for machismo. Re-elected Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announced a new government this weekend, with a surprise twist: His new cabinet boasts more women than men. The eight men and nine ministras include a pregnant woman who will head the army as defense minister, the Independent...

Raunchy Narratives Open Web Porn to Blind

Kate Rockwood — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 11:15:39 CDT

Looking for volunteer opportunities? The nonprofit Porn for the Blind is making free porn preview sites accessible to the blind, Wired reports. "We imagine that visually impaired people benefit from this service in many of the same ways that non-visually impaired people benefit from the hard-core pornography that's being described,...

High Court Limits Use of Race in School Assignments

M. Morris — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:06:34 CDT

Taking race into consideration in school assignments is unconstitutional because it violates students' rights under the equal protection clause, the Supreme Court ruled today in a landmark decision that could cause upheaval in K-12 education. The decision, by an increasingly familiar 5-4 vote, invalidates diversity plans in Louisville and Seattle...