Vermont Legislature Makes Same-Sex Marriage Legal

Today the Vermont state legislature overrode the governor's veto to approve a bill that allows same-sex couples to marry. This makes Vermont the first state to permit same-sex marriage through legislative action rather than through the court system. The bill is called an "Act Relating to Civil Marriage" and the stated purpose is to recognize legal equality in the civil marriage laws and to protect the religious freedom of clergy and religious societies authorized to solemnize civil marriages. Text of the bill is here.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Privacy and Social Networking

Think your MySpace or Facebook musings are private? A California court disagrees. Take a look at this post from the Wall Street Journal law blog about a "private" MySpace post that was reprinted in a local newspaper.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

EFF FOIA database

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has put all of the documents it has obtained through FOIA into a searchable database here. The EFF mostly advocates in matters related to electronic privacy and intellectual property, so this database could be useful for people studying related subjects.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

NATO Online

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed sixty years ago, on April 4, 1949, when twelve countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty as a defensive alliance after World War II and in light of the growing power of the Communist countries to their east. Today, the NATO web site provides a wealth of information for law students and anyone researching international relations--historical background and organization, NATO in the news, facts and updates about NATO operations throughout the world, and data about NATO's relations with specific countries. Check out the NATO e-library, which provides basic documents of the Alliance going back to 1949 as well as key speeches and NATO news conferences.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Government Printing Office (GPO)

You’ve often seen references to GPO Access in this blog, but have you ever wondered about the GPO, or Government Printing Office, itself? This GPO fact sheet will likely tell you all you want to know about this most venerable of U.S. government institutions.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

April Fool’s Day Database

Enjoy the April Fool’s Database, a catalog of April Fool's Day hoaxes, pranks, and related events throughout history, categorized by year and theme. The theme of this particular page is law.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat