equal protection

New Jersey Gun Ban Exempts Cops but Makes Veterans Criminals

New Jersey recently made 1 million of its citizens criminals by banning common firearm ammunition magazines without any grandfathering provision, but plaintiffs challenging the statute on Second Amendment grounds also argue that it violates equal protection because it exempts retired law enforcement, but not retired military – a feature noticed just as America prepares to celebrate the Fourth of July.

In this Tuesday, June 27, 2017 photo, a semi-automatic hand gun is displayed with a 10 sho

Fifteen States Sue Trump over DACA

Fifteen states with leftist attorneys general sued President Donald Trump in federal court on Wednesday over his decision to end President Barack Obama’s controversial DACA program.

We Persist to Resist Eduardo Munoz AlvarezGetty ImagesAFP

Trump DOJ Urges Court to End Texas Voter ID Lawsuit

The Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a pleading Wednesday saying the judge should take no more action in the voter ID lawsuit against Texas because the State’s new law “eradicates any discriminatory effect or intent” of the prior law. Moreover, the new law is “constitutionally and legally valid.”

Texas Early Voting

Texas Supreme Court Curbs Same-sex Marriage Benefits

The Supreme Court of Texas held that the U.S. Supreme Court opinion recognizing the right of same-sex couples to marry does not automatically entitle them to spousal employment benefits. The unanimous court held that the 2015 opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges did not address the right to tax, insurance, or other benefits–only the right to marry.

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

Texas Court Hears Case to Curb Gay Marriage Rights

The Supreme Court of Texas heard oral arguments today in a case where Houston taxpayers sued urging that subsidizing employment benefits for the spouse of a same-sex couple is illegal. Lawyers for the taxpayers describe the case as “the only one of its kind in the nation.”

marriages

DOJ to Oversee ‘Discriminatory’ Texas Town’s Elections for 6 Years

Just before city candidates will begin to sign up for running for office, a federal judge has issued a judgment and injunction prohibiting the City of Pasadena from using what she ruled was an unconstitutional redistricting plan. The municipality will also be placed under federal “preclearance” for six years–requiring Justice Department approval to any changes to election rules.

PROVO, UT - OCTOBER 25: People cast their ballots on electronic voting machines on the fir

Texas City’s Elections Under DOJ Oversight After Hispanic Discrimination Ruling

Pasadena, Texas, will be monitored by the Justice Department now that a federal judge has ruled that the City violated the Voting Rights Act by intentionally changing its city council districts to decrease Hispanic influence. The City, which the court ruled has a “long history of discrimination against minorities,” will have to get permission from the DOJ to make any changes in election policy going forward, otherwise known as pre-clearance.

Early Voting 2016 - 1

Texas Defends Law Criminalizing Migrant Sheltering in Court

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and the State of Texas are fighting it out at the Fifth Circuit. Texas House Bill 11 is being challenged by open border advocates who say that it improperly targets illegal alien shelters and those who rent to illegal aliens. Oral argument is being conducted Wednesday.

Court Gavel

Texas Supreme Court Asked to Reconsider Same-Sex Spousal Benefits

Two taxpayers filed a motion for rehearing with the Texas Supreme Court on Monday to reconsider their order denying review of a case against the openly gay former Houston Mayor and the City of Houston. They urge that Mayor Annise Parker violated the Texas Constitution and state statutes when she gave spousal benefits to gay employees in 2013 and 2014. Parker issued these benefits to employees prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling.

The Associated Press

Obama Judge: Texas Must Reprint Voter ID Training Materials

The Obama appointee presiding over the Texas voter photo ID lawsuit ordered the State to toss some of its voter education materials because federal lawyers did not like the exact language in printed. Although lawyers for the State gave the DOJ and liberal voting rights groups a copy of the proposed language on August 11, they waited until less than 60 days before the November election to complain. This was after financial and other resources had been expended by the State.

txvoterid

Texas Supreme Court Justice: Same-Sex Spousal Employment Benefits Can Be Denied

A Texas Supreme Court Justice has issued a dissenting opinion stating that while the U.S. Supreme Court has declared that same-sex couples may marry, the U.S. Constitution does not necessarily require cities to offer benefits to same-sex spouses of employees. While marriage may be a fundamental right, spousal benefits are not. He says that the same constitutional strict scrutiny does not apply to employment benefits.

Federal Marriage Benefits

Federal Judge Blocks North Carolina’s HB 2 Bathroom Law

Plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits over North Carolina’s HB 2 (the “bathroom bill”) scored a partial victory Friday when a federal district court made clear it was bound by higher-court precedent to rule for the plaintiffs. But that victory may be short-lived, as the U.S. Supreme Court will likely decide this matter in 2017.

DURHAM, NC - MAY 11: A gender neutral sign is posted outside a bathrooms at Oval Park Gri

Constitution Allows Muslim Immigration Ban

While Hillary Clinton and her Democrats are trying to sell Khizr Khan as a constitutional expert, the reality is that the Constitution allows Donald Trump’s proposed temporary ban on Muslim immigrants from terror-related countries. However, if a liberal justice takes Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court, the ban would be struck down nonetheless.

Khizr-Khan-Constitution-ap-640x480

Federal Judge Says Texas Can’t Outlaw Harboring Illegal Aliens

A federal district judge in San Antonio has issued an order stopping a Texas law criminalizing the harboring of illegal aliens, at least for now. The judge issued the preliminary injunction in MALDEF’s (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) lawsuit challenging Texas House Bill 11, a law which open border advocates are fighting because they say it improperly targets illegal alien shelters and those who rent to illegal aliens.

txjh101

Supreme Court Faces Big Cases as 2015 Term Begins

WASHINGTON—Obamacare, religious liberty, Iran, and racial preferences are four of the major issues the justices will confront during the Supreme Court’s annual Term, which begins Monday, Oct. 5. The High Court will decide between 70 and 80 cases over the

The Associated Press