GovBlog: UC Berkeley » Civil Rights

U.S. President’s Speeches and Remarks

Susana Hinojosa — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:29:01 +0000

President Obama has given several very important policy speeches during this month of September 2009. In general transcripts of President Obama’s speeches are easily found on the White House Speeches and Remarks site. A few of the September 2009 speeches are highlighted here:

Remarks by the President in a National Address to America’s Schoolchildren (Sept. 8th, Wakefield High School, Arlington, VA)

Remarks by the President to a Joint Session of Congress on Health Care (Sept. 9th, U.S. Capital, Washington, D.C.)

Remarks by the President on Financial Rescue and Reform (Sept. 14th, Federal Hall, New York, NY)

Same-Sex Marriages Begin in Vermont Today

Jesse Silva — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:09:53 +0000

Vermont began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples today, becoming one of five states to allow same-sex couples to marry. Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut, and Maine are the others. New Hampshire will begin allowing same-sex couples to marry beginning January 1, 2010. California briefly allowed same-sex marriages, but stopped after the passage of Proposition 8 in November 2008.

Census Bureau to Count Same-Sex Married Couples

Jesse Silva — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:43:53 +0000

Here is a piece of news I missed this weekend. The United States Census Bureau announced on Friday that it will count married same-sex couples in the 2010 Census. According to an article in the Washington Post, this is a reversal of a decision made by the Bush Administration not to count same-sex married couples because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The Obama Administration does not interpret DOMA as prohibiting this count. According to the article, the Census Bureau is now working to identify the technical changes needed to ensure the reliability of the information on such couples.

CA Supreme Court to Rule on Prop 8 Tues, May 26, 2009

Jesse Silva — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:41:59 +0000

The California Supreme Court has just announced it will issue its ruling on Proposition 8 on Tuesday, May 26th at 10am. The opinion of the court will be found here on Tuesday: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/.

Maine Legalizes Same-Sex Marriages

Jesse Silva — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:26:41 +0000

Maine’s Governor, John E. Baldacci, signed into law LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom. Maine becomes the 5th state to recognize same-sex marriages. More details can be found at the Governor’s website and the San Francisco Chronicle.

United States Congressional Serial Set Now Available through LexisNexis Congressional

Jesse Silva — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:38:56 +0000

UC Berkeley has recently acquired full-text access to the United States Congressional Serial Set (1789-1969) through LexisNexis Congressional. The Serial Set contains the legislative history of United States, and also includes many historic agency annual reports, House and Senate Reports, and many other official government documents (for a more complete summary of what is contained in the Serial Set, click here). Prior to this acquisition, citations to the Serial Set found in LexisNexis Congressional had to be searched in the Readex United States Congressional Serial Set database. With this purchase, you can now search LexisNexis Congressional for all your congressional research needs. Off-campus access to LexisNexis Congressional is restricted to current UCB student, faculty and staff, though anyone in the Library may access the database.

Iowa Supreme Court Legalizes Same Sex Marriage

Jesse Silva — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:49:36 +0000

In an opinion released today, the Iowa Supreme Court declared a state statute defining marriage as only between and man and women as violating the Iowa State Constitution. The full opinion can be read here:

http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/Supreme_Court/Recent_Opinions/20090403/07-1499.pdf

or here:

http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/wfData/files/Varnum/07-1499.pdf

Watch the Oral Arguments on Proposition 8–March 5, 2009

Jesse Silva — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:13:51 +0000

Beginning at 9am on March 5 (this Thursday), you can watch the California Supreme Court hear the oral arguments on Proposition 8 through the California Channel’s Website. Much like CSPAN, the California Channel covers the California state legislature, the governor and state agency press conferences. Many of their videos are available for free on this website.

Connecticut Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage

Jesse Silva — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:22:24 +0000

The Connecticut Supreme Court granted same-sex couples the right to marry in a 4-3 ruling issued today. Connecticut is the 3rd state to allow same-sex couples the right to marry, following Massachusetts in 2004 and California earlier this year. The decision will take effect on October 28.

Rice admits to White House Talks on “harsh interrogation methods”

Jesse Silva — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:21:10 +0000

According to an article in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times, Secretary of State Condolezza Rice participated in meetings at the White House from 2002-2003 to discuss the use of “harsh interrogation methods on Al Qaeda detainees.” This news comes from a written statement Rice provided to Senate Armed Services Committee investing the use of torture. Present at these meetings were Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales, David S. Addington, the vice president’s counsel. According to the article, the State Department “would not comment on correspondence between Rice and members of Congress.”