Outside the Beltway

What malarkey is this?

You know, some light weekend thoughts.

The Lone Star state is making up its own rules.

A too-long discourse on how courts should function.

The 6-3 opinion written by Justice Gorsuch and joined by Chief Justice Roberts defies conventional wisdom.

If the goal is to change politics, not just vent frustration, messaging is important.

The Democratic victory in Virginia’s legislative elections has revived hopes for advocates of the Equal Rights Amendment, Even if Virginia does become the 38th state to ratify the measure, though, the actual status of the Amendment is exceedingly unclear.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court held oral argument in a series of cases asking it to decide if existing civil rights laws cover discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

A wedding venue in Mississippi is citing religious beliefs in support of its decision not to allow an interracial couple to utilize their facilities.

A Federal Court has ruled once again in favor of a transgender student in Virginia who was prevented from using the bathroom conforming to their gender identity.

The House has passed legislation that would extend the protections of the Civil Rights Act to LGBT Americans, but it is probably doomed in the Senate.

The Supreme Court has agreed to accept a group of cases dealing with the issue of whether or not existing civil rights laws bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Now that women are allowed into all combat roles, the rationale for excluding them from Selective Service has evaporated.

The longest-serving member of Congress in American history has passed away at the age of 92.

The Supreme Court is set to consider whether to take a case involving employment discrimination based on gender identity.

The Trump Administration is preparing a policy change that will essentially define transgender Americans out of existence.

An Oregon state agency is suggesting that Walmart’s decision to restrict arms sales to bar people under 21, but over 18, from being able to purchase firearms violates state law.

A Federal Judge in Oregon has rejected an efforts by a parent’s group to block a school district policy that allows transgender students to use the restroom facilities that conform to their gender identity.

Earlier this week, the Illinois legislature ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. What’s unclear is if this act has any meaning at all.

A Federal Judge in Virginia has handed a significant legal victory to a student who sued their school district because they were barred form using the bathroom of the gender they identify with.

A Federal Judge in Texas has ruled that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is barred by Federal Law. Legally speaking, this is a tenuous argument at best.

The idea that individuals have different “learning styles” is apparently not borne out by the evidence, according to recent research.

Another Federal Court has ruled in favor of a student seeking to use the restroom facilities that correspond with their gender identity.

Another lawsuit has been filed against Dick’s Sporting Goods over its policy barring gun sales based on age.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals rules that existing civil rights laws bar discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The Department of Education announced yesterday that it will no longer investigate civil rights complaints from transgender students regarding bathroom access in public schools.

The Supreme Court declined to hear a major case regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation, but the issue is likely to come up again in the very near future.

Reversing an Obama Era position, the Justice Department has rescinded a legal interpretation that purported to apply previously adopted civil rights laws to transgender individuals.

A Federal appellate court has ruled that a transgender student must be allowed to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, but its reasoning is questionable at best.

The Supreme Court has decided to return the case involving a transgender student’s right to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity to the Fourth Circuit rather than deciding it during this term.

Not surprisingly, the Trump Administration has revoked guidelines to public schools that required accommodation of transgender students.

For largely irrational reasons, French police are arresting women on the beach for wearing swimsuits that are compatible with their faith.

A Federal Court has barred the Federal Government from enforcing guidelines on the rights of transgender students in public schools.

Donald Trump’s support among African-Americans is at historic lows, and seems unlikely to recover.

If the allegations of a new lawsuit are true, things are truly lurid behind the scenes at Fox News Channel.

The Fourth Circuit has declined to rehear a case in which a three judge panel sided with a transgender student seeking to use the bathroom consistent with their gender identity.

The political fight over North Carolina’s so-called “Bathroom Bill” has moved to the Federal Courts.

Relying on a particularly strained and incredulous legal analysis, the EEOC has ruled that laws against discrimination based on gender also bar discrimination based on sexual orientation.

He definitely wouldn’t appreciate it, but in some sense you can thank Robert Bork for the Supreme Court’s opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Being required to demonstrate competency in liberal arts to teach is racially discriminatory, a federal judge has ruled.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Muslim woman who was refused a job because of her hijab.

We’re down to debating whether bigots should have to sell cakes to gay people.

The sad truth is that the bipartisanship that led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 no longer exists today.

Once again, conservatives demonstrate how little they understand minority voters.

Once again, Rand Paul is challenging conservative orthodoxy.

A case out of New Mexico presents an interesting collision of First Amendment rights and anti-discrimination values.

Examining a history that might have been.

A recent decision out of Massachusetts threatens to make business quite difficult for online service providers.

Nicholas Katzenbach, a central figure in the civil rights fights of the 1960s, has died.