One year ago today, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, banning gay marriage in the state – though the marriage licenses of 18,000 couples remained valid. Closing arguments for the federal challenge, Perry v. Schwarzeneggar, are slated for June 16. (Flickr/albany_tim)
Gabriel Arana
Gabriel Arana is a contributing editor at The American Prospect. His articles on gay rights, immigration, and media have appeared in publications including The New Republic, The Nation, Salon, The Advocate, and The Daily Beast.
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DADT Repeal: Not an HRC Victory.
As Paul mentioned this morning, a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal appears imminent. In response, the media’s go-to gay spokesperson Joe Solmnese of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) put out a celebratory release saying that the government is on the “brink of historic action.” But the reaction among grassroots gay-rights supporters and the gay blogosphere […]
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Powerless in Arizona
How did such a draconian anti-immigration bill pass in a state where the population is 30 percent Hispanic?
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Schumer and Graham Draft Enforcement-Heavy Immigration Plan.
Today, Sens. Lindsey Graham and Chuck Schumer released their extended plan for immigration reform. I still need to read over the document more carefully, but just a glance gives you an idea of what they have in mind: Their proposal is 26 pages long, and 17 of those pages detail ways of improving enforcement. First, […]
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The Immigration Enforcement Trap
Progressives are trying to win on immigrant rights by veering right, but this will ultimately make comprehensive reform harder to achieve.
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Lindsey Graham’s Hotheadedness on Climate Change.
I’m finding Sen. Lindsey Graham‘s climate bill hissy fit over the weekend hard to understand. Days before the legislation was announced, the senator reportedly walked out of talks on the bill because Democrats — including Sen. Harry Reid — plan to prioritize immigration reform. Graham said he thinks immigration is being rushed for political reasons: […]
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Why the Distinction Between ‘Legal’ and ‘Illegal’ Immigrants Doesn’t Matter.
In response to Arizona’s crazy anti-immigrant bill, various leaders from civil-rights organizations — including the Anti-Defamation League, the National Council of La Raza, and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights — called on Gov. Jan Brewer to veto the legislation on a press call today. And as I argued in a previous post, […]
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Graham’s Deep, Dark Secret: He Likes Immigration Reform.
Looks like the nativist group Americans for Legal Immigration (ALIPAC) is getting desperate. William Gheen‘s rant at a rally “outing” Sen. Lindsey Graham, who supports comprehensive immigration reform, has gone viral. Though Graham has said repeatedly that he is not gay (just single), ALIPAC insists on pushing this line. The organization sent out a press […]
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The Anecdote Fallacy.
As immigrant-rights supporters urge Gov. Jan Brewer to veto Arizona’s tough new immigration bill, Randal Archibold at The New York Times examines how a state with one of the largest Latino populations has come so close to passing the country’s most punitive anti-immigrant bill yet. He notes John McCain‘s change of heart on comprehensive immigration […]
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The Moral Behind Arizona’s Draconian Immigration Bill.
Most of the reaction to Arizona’s passage of a draconian immigration bill — one that is almost identical to the 2006 bill that set off mass immigration-rights protests across the country — has focused on whether it will lead to racial profiling. SB 1070, which was approved by the state Legislature Tuesday and is expected […]
