POLITICAL ACTIVITY BY STATE or COUNTRY and LEGIS. or COURT

desc.	subtop	code	polcode	date	action	case
dont ask dont tell
gays in the workplace
affirmative action preferences
having dependents
gay marriage	B1500005	MA	stasup	20031118	Mssacusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules 4-3 that state equal protection requires gays have access to same-sex marriage and that state legislature implement	Goodridge v. Public Health
gay marriage	B1500005	VA	stabil	20040115	Same-sex marriage and any civil union or any arrangement that implies quasi-marriage privilege is illegal in VA. On April 16, 2004, Gov. Mark Warner amended the so-called "Marriage Affirmation Act" by removing the "partnership contracts and other arrangements" language. However, the Assembly rejected those changes and voted to pass the original version of the bill, sponsored by Del. Robert Marshall, R-Manassas. Both chambers passed the measure by more than a two-thirds vote – disallowing a veto by the governor. The measure will become law July 1, 2004.	Controversy over whether this affects joint morgages, leases, etc
gay marriage	B1500005	MA	stasup	20040204	Mssachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issues a supplementary opinion	Goodridge v Public Health
sodomy laws	B4100001	TN	staapl	20040324	A gay man is not guilty of a crime for telling his son that he is gay	Tenn. v. Hogue
pension fund stability	C2100001	US	supopn	20040607	An employer may not change a "non compete" clause or other post-retirement disqualifying clause in a defined benefit pension fund after the pension has started paying out (under ERISA)	Central Laborers' Pension Fund v. Heinz et al
marriage traditional	B1500005	US	supopn	20040614	A man not legally married did not have legal custody of his daughter and had no standing to sue regarding the Pledge of Allegiance, claiming 1st amendment violation, on her behalf. Some justices felt the "under God" phrase was merely ceremonial	Elk Grove Unified School District et al v. Newdow et al
4th amend search and seizure	B4600001	US	supopn	20040621	Police may ask for the name of a person without charging the person with a crime, as part of routine law enforcement, like a sobriety checkpoint	Hiibel v Nevada
Access to health care	C3100001	US	supopn	20040621	HMOs can be sued only in federal court (not state courts) for coverage decisions. The effect is supposed to reduce frivolous litigation as a major component of health care costs.	Calad v. Cigna, Davila v. Aetna Health
combatants and due process	A1600003	US	supopn	20040628	Hamdi v. Rumsfeld. The government must give access to attorneys for a US citizen held as a combatant in an enemy zone, but the government may detain American citizens suspected of waging war against the Y.S. Rasul v. Bush. A similar ruling applies to detainees at Guantanamo. The case Rumsfeld v. Padilla was dismissed on a technicality	Hamdi v Rumsfeld, Rasul v Bush, Rumsfeld v Padilla
COPA	B3100003	US	supopn	20040629	COPA sent back to district court, injunction aginst enforcement in place. Senders not responsible for segregating content if can be done at receiver level through filters; content-based restriction on free speech would violate First Amendment	Ashcroft v ACLU II 03-218