legislation

After lawmakers approved legislation to authorize same-sex marriage in Illinois, Governor Pat Quinn has said he will sign the bill, the Chicago Tribune reports. The newspaper also reports that the prospects for the legislation improved when supporters could point to the situation "in in which gay couples living in states that recognize same-sex marriage have more rights than their counterparts in states that haven't legalized gay marriage. The two-class system was a clear narrative that advocates could use when lobbying lawmakers who were on the fence, contending it just didn't make sense for gay couples in Illinois to be denied access to benefits that were available to couples living just across the border in Iowa."

Iowa has same-sex marriage as the result of a ruling by that state's Supreme Court.

Lawfare has a comprehensive roundup of all the legislative proposals to reform the mass surveillance that has been revealed by Edward Snowden's leaks. One suggested reform is to end the ex parte proceedings in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in which the government's requests face no opposition: "Judging by the bills in play, there’s pretty much two ideas for doing so: the addition of a new 'Special Advocate,' a lawyer who would argue in the public interest in FISC proceedings; or of an amicus curiae, or 'friend of the court,' when called upon by the court," according to Lawfare.
 

CBS reports: "With the support of every member of the Democratic caucus and some Republicans, the Senate on Monday voted to move forward with the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill that would prohibit discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity." That means the full Senate is very likely to pass the bill.

But the bill's prognosis in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is not so good. Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner came out against the legislation Monday.

The prognosis is good for the bipartisan passage in the U.S. Senate of legislation that would make it illegal for employers to discriminate against people on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, the Associated Press reports. However, it is unclear if the legislation would even be taken up in the House of Representatives.

The bill has bipartisan support. "In a sign of the times, the anti-bias legislation has traditional proponents such as the Human Rights Campaign, the largest gay and lesbian advocacy group, plus the backing of a relatively new group, the American Unity Fund. That organization has the financial support of big-name Republican donors — hedge fund billionaires Paul Singer, Cliff Asness, Dan Loeb and Seth Klarman — and former GOP lawmakers Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Tom Reynolds of New York," the AP also reports.

Legislators may vote on same-sex marriage next week, according to GateHouse Media: "Advocates for same-sex marriage in Illinois say they're ready for a vote next week. It's been months of energetic lobbying, but there are signals lawmakers may be prepared for a tally after the measure was set aside earlier this year."

The Hawaii Senate has passed a bill to authorize same-sex marriage. The bill is expected to pass the House of Representatives too, Reuters reported. If the legislation is enacted, Hawaii could become the 15th state to legalize same-sex matrimony. The bill exempts houses of worship from having to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies.

After a committee in the Hawaii Senate passed a same-sex marriage, "SB 1 now awaits a vote in the full Senate, where it is expected to pass comfortably. It will then be heard by the House Judiciary and Finance committees Thursday morning, where its fate is less certain," The Huffingon Post reported.

Hawaii has started a marathon special legislative session over same-sex marriage in which 1,800 people are expected to testify and 4,000 pages of prepared testimony has been submitted, the Associated Press reports. One special issue for Hawaii is that it is no small thing for same-sex couples to travel to another state to get married elsewhere in the United States: Hawaii Attorney General David Louie testified "that traveling to another state that allows gay marriage is no small issue," the AP reports.

U.S. News and World Report recounted last week that even supporters of passing legislation that would allow journalists to keep their confidential sources shielded admit that the legislation would not address the situation in which the U.S. Department of Justice seized without notice two months of Associated Press phone records. Just today, several outlets are reporting that a former FBI agent was identified in those phone logs and has now agreed to plead guilty to leaking news of a failed 2012 "underwear bomb" plot by al Qaeda, the Wall Street Journal reports: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230375960457909362328002599...

Another concern raised about the bill as currently drafted is that it would not provide protection to citizen bloggers. Moreover, an amendment backed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., "intentionally excises WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange from supposed legal protections for journalists," according to U.S. News.

One of the legislative opponents to the bill, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told U.S. News in an email: "The extension of the bill's protections to a so-called 'citizen blogger,' a journalist who is not employed by traditional media outlets, is entirely subject to the judge's willingness to exercise discretion, after finding that doing so would be (a) in the interest of justice and (b) necessary to protect lawful and legitimate news-gathering activities. Thus, while for some the privilege is automatic and known in advance, those outside the favored status may only hope that a reviewing federal judge deems them sufficiently worthy of protection."