By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Religious fervor collided with secular ambition this week as the stakes in the gay marriage battle were laid bare in dramatic testimony before the Supreme Court.
After more than two decades of legal battles, rallies, protests and campaigns, proponents of gay marriage say they are increasingly confident as they await their day in court.
The wait continues for the Supreme Court to choose gay marriage lawsuits.
A decision about whether the U.S. Supreme Court will take up a gay-marriage case could come as early as Monday.
As the first case to be prosecuted under California's new "one-strike" sex offender law is processed, the parents of slain San Diego County teen Chelsea King are beginning to work toward passage of similar laws in Colorado, Florida, Ohio and Texas.
A group of bills related to child abduction and sex offenders, including one that would incarcerate the most violent sex offenders for life without parole and provide harsher sentences for forcible sex crimes, is awaiting the signature of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The privacy rights of parents of slain children won over the rights of the public to review autopsies in a landslide vote Wednesday in the California state Senate.
A controversial bill that would allow certain family members of murdered children to seal autopsy-related information passed through the state Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday and may go before the full state Senate this week.
A controversial California bill that would let parents of slain children seal autopsy-related information has been unexpectedly approved by a state Senate panel during what would normally be a recess.
A bill designed to keep the most violent of California's sex offenders in prison for life without parole passed the major hurdle of the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday.
"I am very pleased the bill has received strong support and that my colleagues have listened to the families of these murdered children."
"I believe we have found a fitting balance between protecting the privacy of families while creating a necessary system of checks and balances," Mr. Hollingsworth said.
