Top Features
How to Close Guantanamo
Ken Gude outlines a five phase plan for closing Guantánamo safely and in a way that reinforces American values and the rule of law.The ID Divide
Report from Peter Swire and Cassandra Butts addresses the challenges of identification and authentication in American society.Other Civil Rights, Liberties, and Justice Features
March 5, 2010
A Time for Courage
President Barack Obama must rise above the political pressure and keep the 9/11 trial in criminal court, argues Ken Gude.
February 3, 2010
Why We Need to Help Unemployed Youth
A new study finds teen employment at a historic low, and this should be a wake-up call for investing in youth service programs, writes Shirley Sagawa.
January 15, 2010
Health Disparities in LGBT Communities of Color
A by-the-numbers breakdown of health care in LGBT communities by race and ethnicity shows how a person’s race and sexual orientation affect their care.
November 13, 2009
New York's 9/11 Trial Justice
Putting the 9/11 suspects on trial in New York is the right move, but seeking the death penalty would be a strategic error, writes Ken Gude.
November 10, 2009
Getting Back on Track to Close Guantanamo
The closure of Guantanamo is within the reach of the Obama administration, but it still must take certain steps to get the detainee population down to zero, writes Ken Gude.
November 2, 2009
No Background Check? No Problem
The White House should commit to better enforcement of existing gun laws to make cities safer, writes Sam Fulwood III, and gun shows are a good place to start.
October 15, 2009
Evangelicals Step Up for Marriage Equality
Marta Cook documents the growing grassroots support for LGBT rights among evangelicals.
August 17, 2009
Vanessa Cárdenas: We Can Achieve Immigration Reform
In Mexico last Monday President Barack Obama said that immigration reform would have to wait until 2010. This news was received with disappointment by immigration reform supporters and fueled speculation that change to our immigration system was not possible in the short term. Yet it is clear that the only alternative for those of us who want immigration reform is to continue preparing the ground and building the movement to make reform a reality sooner rather than later.
August 7, 2009
Beyond Sotomayor's Confirmation
Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation is a cause for celebration but she joins a Court whittling away at protections for Americans, writes Ian Millhiser.
August 6, 2009
CAP Statement on the Confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court
The confirmation of President Obama's first Supreme Court nominee is a victory for all Americans who believe in equal justice.
August 6, 2009
Declaración de CAP Sobre la Confirmación de la Jueza Sotomayor para la Corte Suprema
La confirmación de la primera nominación del Presidente Obama es una victoria para todos los estadounidenses que creen en la justicia equitativa bajo la ley.
July 27, 2009
LGBT Issues in Health Reform
Health care reform can help LGBT Americans, who are often marginalized by the current system. This issue brief from Josh Rosenthal details how.
July 22, 2009
From Gitmo to Bagram
It is disappointing that the panels responsible for reviewing the Obama administration's detention policy at Guantánamo Bay and its interrogation policy overall announced on Tuesday that they would need more time to complete their evaluations. Thankfully, though, the pending review of the Afghan prison and judicial system is on track to be completed swiftly and thoroughly by the US military at this critical juncture in the nearly eight-year-long conflict.
July 16, 2009
The Ledbetter Lesson
Americans--especially women--should be much more concerned about a recent line of cases dealing with civil rights and antidiscrimination laws than about Roe v. Wade argue Jessica Arons and Ian Millhiser.
July 16, 2009
A Common Touch Needed on the Supreme Court
Sotomayor's nomination comes not a minute too soon, writes Louis Caldera, for the Supreme Court suffers from a lack of empathy and imagination for the lives of ordinary Americans.
July 13, 2009
Closing the Justice Gap
A CAP event addresses how to close the gap between the legal services received by the wealthy and the poor.
July 10, 2009
Mitos vs. Realidades: Los Ataques Conservadores en Contra de la Jueza Sonia Sotomayor
Ian Millhiser desacredita cinco mitos sobre la Jueza Sonia Sotomayor.
July 9, 2009
Ask the Expert: A Judge With Loyalty to the Law
Ian Millhiser discusses what we should expect from next week's confirmation hearings for Judge Sotomayor and her record as a judge.
July 8, 2009
Myth vs. Fact: Conservative Attacks on Judge Sonia Sotomayor
Ian Millhiser debunks five conservative myths about Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
July 8, 2009
And Justice for All
Joy Moses argues in a report for prioritizing free legal services during the recession and suggests who can help.
July 6, 2009
Reducing U.S. Incarceration Rates
A CAP event addresses the U.S. incarceration rate, its relation to drug crime, and how to reduce it.
June 24, 2009
Ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
Practical steps to repeal the ban on openly gay men and women in the U.S. military from Lawrence J. Korb, Sean Duggan, and Laura Conley.
June 22, 2009
Ask the Expert: Putting an End to "Don't Ask Don't Tell"
Lawrence J. Korb discusses why President Obama and Congress need to repeal "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and how they can accomplish it successfully.
June 8, 2009
Religious Voices Are Critical for the Advancement of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Equality
Last week CAP and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force released two groundbreaking reports on marriage-equality ballot initiatives in California and Michigan.
May 29, 2009
Obama's Right to Detain
Civil rights groups say the United States must charge or release Guantánamo detainees. But Obama has a third choice, explains Ken Gude.
May 26, 2009
Sonia Sotomayor: A Quality Nomination
The first Hispanic nominee to the Supreme Court can deliver on President Obama’s promise to bring more diversity and excellence to the high court, writes Vanessa Cardenas.
May 26, 2009
California Supreme Court Upholds Proposition 8
Winnie Stachelberg weighs in on the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold the ballot initiative, which bans same-sex unions in the state.
May 14, 2009
Torture or Not, It’s Illegal and Wrong
Debating whether harsh interrogation tactics used by the United States were torture or not misses the point that they're still illegal, writes William F. Schulz.
May 5, 2009
Supreme Court Rules that Immigrants Have Rights, Too
An identity theft law inappropriately used to punish immigrants is removed from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement arsenal, writes Henry Fernandez.
May 4, 2009
Obama Can't Turn the Page on Torture
We need a non-partisan investigation into America's use of torture. Otherwise, it will continue to haunt us, writes Ken Gude on The Guardian's "Comment Is Free" blog.
April 28, 2009
Standing Together Against Hate
Lawmakers are poised to stand by the GLBT community by passing legislation to add sexual orientation to hate crime protections, write Mark Shields and Winnie Stachelberg.
April 28, 2009
Bush Administration Got the Guantanamo it Wanted
Ken Gude writes about Karen Greenberg's The Least Worst Place: Guantanamo's First 100 Days for the TPMCafe Book Club.
April 17, 2009
Obama Shows Leadership on Torture Memos
Yesterday President Obama exercised good judgment and responsible leadership when he released Bush-era memos providing legal justification for certain types of torture, writes Ken Gude.
April 14, 2009
Four Things You Didn’t Know About God and Same-Sex Marriage
Christians who oppose same-sex marriage say it goes against the biblical conception of marriage and sexuality, but they're wrong.
March 26, 2009
Steps Toward Equality
John Berry's confirmation for director of the Office of Personnel Management could lead to a more open and tolerant federal workplace, write Winnie Stachelberg and Josh Rosenthal.
March 26, 2009
Keeping Americans Safe from Faulty Medical Devices
A panel of experts joins CAP to discuss the short documentary “Hit and Run” and the issue of preemption in protecting consumers from unsafe drugs and medical devices.
March 14, 2009
'Enemy combatants' no more
Late Friday, the Obama administration took another step toward following through on its intention to significantly change US detention policy by dropping the Bush administration's favoured description of the Guantánamo detainees as "enemy combatants". What follows in a filing in US district court, however, is disappointingly similar to the Bush administration's assertion of detention authority.
March 6, 2009
Weekly Round Up: March 2 - 6, 2009
CAP provided analysis of equal rights events this week, produced an interactive map of air strikes in Pakistan, and continued its analysis of the recession.
March 3, 2009
Expressing Faith Through Marriage Equality
Progressive religious leaders should be a strong voice in the fight for marriage equality, writes Sarah Dreier. Opportunities to do so abound this week.
March 3, 2009
Benefits Denied
After paying into the system their whole lives, married same-sex couples will be denied thousands of dollars in Social Security benefits, write Ben Furnas and Josh Rosenthal.
March 2, 2009
The Costs of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
The military’s outdated policy excludes qualified service members and cost taxpayers millions of dollars, while public opinion now supports repealing the policy.
February 26, 2009
Think Again: Thank God for Gitmo!
The punditocracy's attacks on Obama for the decision to close Guantanamo deserve close scrutiny, write Eric Alterman and Danielle Ivory.
February 24, 2009
Ask the Expert: Three Types of Challenges at Guantánamo
Ken Gude discusses the hurdles that the Obama administration will face as it move along the process of closing Guantánamo by January 2010.
February 5, 2009
Guantánamo's Secrets
The United States' hostility toward publishing details of Binyam Mohamed's treatment suggests that the stakes are higher than we may realize.
January 22, 2009
Closing Guantanamo, Restoring American Values
President Obama’s decision to close Guantanamo and the secret CIA prisons shows the world the the United States is back and ready to lead.
January 16, 2009
The State of Minorities: The Recession Issue
The recession has hit minorities especially hard, write Amanda Logan and Christian Weller.
January 13, 2009
The First Step Toward Closing Guantánamo
Announcing the closure of Guantánamo and establishing a process to empty the prison is just a first step, but it's the right first step, writes Ken Gude.
January 12, 2009
Gitmo: No More
By ordering the closure of Guantanamo as one of his first acts, Obama will show leadership and signal real change.
January 6, 2009
Closing Guantánamo 101
Why we need to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay and six steps to get there.
December 9, 2008