On Monday, a federal court judge heard oral arguments in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case brought by the Service Women's Action Network (SWAN) and the ACLU seeking records from the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs regarding their response to sexual assault, sexual harassment,...

Like many civil rights advocates, I have been sorely tempted to celebrate the death--once lingering but now tantalizingly imminent--of the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy as an undiluted victory for workplace equality. After all, Log Cabin Republicans v. United States promises to topple at long last a structure once...

In the weeks following the release of regulations designed to simplify the process by which veterans with PTSD can access benefits, advocates of every stripe have clamored to declare victory in a long-waged battle against a system notorious for resisting change. By eliminating the requirement that...

If ever a single week could be said to capture the wide spectrum of challenges confronting women in the military, that week may well have arrived earlier this month. By a notable coincidence, the span of a few days saw not only the passage of Al Franken's much discussed

As the Great Recession continues to batter families throughout the country with fresh gales of destructive force, many have lamented the erosion of a reliable government safety net. In surveying this trend, authors like Peter Edelman and Barbara Ehrenreich invoke the familiar metaphor of a...

For the past few weeks, the anniversary of the birth of the modern gay rights movement has prompted renewed demands for the full integration of gays and lesbians into the military. Figures ranging from Gen. Shalikashvili to Barney Frank to a self-proclaimed conservative World War II spouse...

Consider the following two contracts: one binds its signer to a range of financial obligations but can be terminated at will, albeit at a monetary cost; the other commits its promisor to eight years of labor and carries the potential for criminal charges if violated. Both are marketed aggressively to...

If The Oprah Winfrey Show can be said to represent a microcosm of the contemporary feminine experience, its recent episodes may well illustrate the limits of our progress in addressing violence against women. At first glance, the show has served as a prominent forum for discussions on domestic violence, dedicating...