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GOP Election-Law Rewrites Pose Threat to Dems
Pennsylvania’s Republicans aren’t the only ones instituting voting laws likely to hurt Democrats. Some 12 states have begun requiring voters to carry picture ID; Florida and Ohio have reduced...
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40K New State Laws Kick In for 2012
The new year has brought us about 40,000 state laws ranging from abortion and voter restrictions to golf cart requirements and a ban on happy hours. MSNBC runs down a few of them: Several states will...
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Rapists Can Assert Child Custody in 27 States
Think Todd Akin's comments about "legitimate rape" were medieval? Even scarier, and less-discussed, is the fact that many US states allow alleged rapists to apply for parental rights of children...
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Doctors, Patient Groups Split Over New Mammogram Laws
Doctors' groups and patient advocates are facing off over new state laws that require health professionals to warn women when mammograms reveal dense breast tissue. Density—the result of higher...
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Obama Endorses State Measures for Gay Marriage
After announcing his support for gay marriage in May, President Obama is putting his weight behind ballot measures to make those unions a reality. Obama is supporting measures in Maine, Maryland, and...
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Colo., Wash. Face Showdown With Feds Over Legal Pot
Colorado and Washington state are now chill with citizens having a little pot—but the drug is still very much illegal in Uncle Sam's eyes, leaving states to chart a difficult path. When it comes to...
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Poll: If State Legalizes Pot, Feds Should Be Cool With It
It's now legal to smoke pot while watching a Lord of the Rings marathon in Washington state, but questions persist over how the pot-prohibiting federal government should react. A new USA Today /Gallup...
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Thousands of New Laws in Effect, Some of Them Odd
While everyone fretted about the fiscal cliff , thousands of new state laws quietly took effect at midnight. The Christian Science Monitor , the Washington Post , and Mediaite run down a few notable...
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Alabama About to Put Its Abortion Clinics in Jeopardy
Alabama's state legislature has passed a bill placing tough new restrictions on abortion providers, and critics say it's intended to shut down the five clinics in the state, the New York Times reports....
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It's July 1: Hundreds of New Laws Go Live
The Jersey Shore is about to get a little paler. As of today, minors in the state won't be allowed to use tanning beds—and anyone under age 14 won't even be able to get a spray tan there. It's July 1,...
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Nurses, Midwives Can Now Perform Abortions in Calif.
With its latest bill, California has joined Washington, Montana, Vermont, and New Hampshire in allowing non-physicians to perform aspiration abortions, a common form of the procedure. But California's...
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6 States Defy Pentagon on Gay Military Benefits
In 44 states, the gay spouse of an active-duty National Guard member can register for a military spouse ID card at his or her partner's base and begin getting federal marriage benefits. But in six...
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Texting While Driving? Ariz. to Nail You for, Uh, Speeding
Arizona hasn't outlawed driving while texting, but it's come up with a strategy to deal with those who do use their phones while on the road: Slap them with a speeding ticket, the Pheonix New-Times...
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'Upskirt' Pics Now Illegal in Massachusetts
If you were outraged by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that deemed "upskirt" photos legal , you can turn that frown upside down. Just a day after the decision, state lawmakers voted...
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New York: No More Tattoos—for Pets
Apparently tattooing pets is a thing. At least, it's popular enough that New York passed a bill on Wednesday banning owners from inking up companion animals. Piercings are off the table, too, according...
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Medical Marijuana May Cut Painkiller ODs
The solution to America's addiction to painkillers may be … more drugs? A new study found a drop in painkiller overdose deaths in 13 states that allowed medical marijuana, CNN reports. That's because a...
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Most Interesting New Laws Taking Effect Today
It's Jan. 1, and you know what that means: Many new state laws take effect, some of them weird. Highlights from the AP : Wine lovers in Massachusetts can finally have out-of-state wineries ship bottles...
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California Lawmakers Pass Strict Vaccine Bill
California lawmakers today sent the governor a contentious bill that would impose one of the strictest school vaccination laws in the country in reaction to a recent measles outbreak at Disneyland ....
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North Dakota Lets Police Drones Fire Rubber Bullets
Watch the skies in North Dakota: The state has passed a first-of-its-kind law legalizing the use of armed police drones, though they must carry "less than lethal" weapons like tear gas, rubber bullets,...
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Mass. Passes Nation's 'Strongest Equal Pay Law'
Massachusetts "just took a big step toward closing the wage gap" with "the strongest equal pay law in the country," as Mother Jones puts it. Gov. Charlie Baker signed a new law Monday ensuring...
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