Bill to expand protections for LGBTQ Americans faces hurdles in the Senate

The Senate is considering House-passed legislation that would broaden federal protections for LGBTQ Americans against discrimination in housing, employment and public services ranging from retail stores to doctors’ offices. Advocates for the Equality Act are hoping chances for final passage…

Honoring Emmett Till, House passes bill making lynching a federal hate crime

WASHINGTON — The House passed a bill Wednesday to make lynching a federal hate crime. The measure was named after Emmett Till, a black 14-year-old who was murdered in Mississippi in 1955.  The final vote was 410-4. Three Republicans and…

Briana Urbina’s pitch to Maryland’s 5th Congressional District: go younger

BOWIE, Maryland – Briana Urbina and her campaign staff marched through rows of two-story homes with red brick and vinyl siding exteriors as the sun inched closer to the horizon on an evening earlier this month. Red and brown leaves…

Veteran Baltimore congressman and Trump era protagonist Elijah Cummings dies at 68

WASHINGTON – Rep. Elijah Cummings, a veteran Democratic congressman who represented Baltimore and served as a key figure in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, died Thursday due to “long-standing health problems,” his office said. He was 68. Cummings…

House Democrats introduce bill to fight voter suppression

In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed, ensuring the right to vote to black voters as well as enforcing oversight of places where voter suppression was common. In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down the oversight requirement. House Democrats want to bring it back to guarantee that exclusionary voting laws are not passed.

House Democrats introduce bill to combat voter suppression

On the eve of the 54th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches for civil rights, House Democrats introduced a bill Tuesday aimed at returning to the federal government the authority to protect voting rights in states with histories of discriminatory practices.

Rewriting the Civil War Story