News & Commentary

Every so often, frequently in election years, there are public conversations about patriotism. There’s been no shortage of such conversations in recent weeks between Colin Kaepernick and the National Anthem or a proposal in Congress related to the American Flag.

Maria Marquez Hernandez, who was brought to the U.S. by her parents and raised here as an undocumented child, was an honors student and doing well in college. When Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was introduced in 2012, Maria applied for it and received a Social Security number and a work authorization card. Even with this documentation, Maria was not allowed to receive a driver’s license because of a block put on DACA recipients by Governor Heineman. That’s when Hernandez decided to stand up and speak out. 

Many of the over 1,000 complaints we receive every year are about law enforcement agencies. Sometimes, they are a sign of an officer being rude, but not breaking any laws. Sometimes, they are much more serious. In all cases, these complaints should be going directly to the law enforcement agencies. 

For this week’s anniversary memory, we think the news coverage speaks for itself. In December of 2001, the Associated Press reported on a picket at the office of the ACLU. 

David Dell is a passionate reproductive freedom activist and volunteers with Planned Parenthood to guard patients from protesters at the South Street clinic in Lincoln.

I was 14 when I moved to the Elkhorn Public Schools district which had a small town feel and was just minutes away from Omaha. Elkhorn High was big enough for opportunities but small enough to where I could stand out. There was only one deterrent: I wondered how a school district with a 98% Caucasian population and a median income of over $75,000--the quintessential conservative community--would react to an openly gay youth.

The right to marry is a fundamental American right.  Something that no one should be denied – even prison inmates.

At a time when policy makers in Nebraska are playing politics with transgender students, it is heartwarming to see one entity, the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, indicate strongly that all students, including transgender students, should have the opportunity to get a great education:

On August 5, 2015 Third District Judge John Colborn struck down 20-year-old policy that banned LGBT Nebraskans from providing foster care. This policy had been issued back in 1995 by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.