Room for Debate: Is It Child Abuse to Make a Trans Child 'Change'?

Introduction

Ng Han Guan/Associated Press

The suicide of the transgender teenager Leelah Alcorn rattled the L.G.B.T. community at a time when many celebrate the progress that's been made in gaining acceptance and respect. In a note posted online, Leelah spoke in anger of her parents' rejection of her identity for religious reasons and their efforts to take her to so-called conversion therapy.

Do parents commit child abuse by refusing to accept their transgender children's sexual identity?

Read the Discussion »

13.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Room for Debate: When a Local Jury Won't Do

Good Reasons and Bad Reasons

Jeffrey Abramson, author, "We, the Jury"

The judge's denial of the defendant's motion to move the trial is to the defendant's advantage: It's Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's only realistic hope to avoid the death penalty.

Let Boston Decide Tsarnaev's Fate

Laura I Appleman, former public defender

The right to a jury trial is a collective right, belonging to both the defendant and his affected community, and embedded deeply in the venue of the crime.

Denying the Motion Sets a Bad Precedent

Richard Lind, lawyer

The McVeigh opinion, which allowed for a change of venue for two defendants in the Oklahoma City bombing, is far more pertinent than the Skilling case, which involved corporate fraud.

The Hinckley Example

Lincoln Caplan, author, "The Insanity Defense and the Trial of John W. Hinckley, Jr."

In John Hinckley Jr.'s trial in Washington, near where the shootings occurred, jurors' names were kept secret, and the judge gave them strict instructions on how to behave.

The Judge Should Rethink His Decision

Thaddeus Hoffmeister, editor, Juries

It will be hard to find a juror with the courage to acquit knowing that he or she has to return to a community where this bombing has caused so much pain.

Having the Trial in Boston Presents Huge Challenges

Valerie P. Hans, co-author, "American Juries"

Will a Boston jury feel the same urgency to vindicate its city that a Dallas jury felt when it convicted Jack Ruby?

13.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Room for Debate: Do Immigrants Take Jobs From American-Born Workers?

In a recent essay in The Atlantic, David Frum argues that while economists generally feel that immigration helps the United States, an analysis of government figures shows that the growth in jobs since the recession has benefited only lower-paid immigrants.

Do immigrants take jobs away from working-class citizens or has that threat to American economic stability been exaggerated?

Read the Discussion »

13.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Room for Debate: Is the Modern American Dream Attainable?

What the Numbers Show

Erin Currier, Pew Charitable Trusts

Forty-three percent of those raised in the bottom fifth of the income ladder remain there a generation later, and 40 percent of those raised at the top stay there.

Progressive Policies Can Help

Stephanie Coontz, Council on Contemporary Families

If we want to revive and achieve the American Dream, we need to change a situation in which the people whose hard work makes this country run cannot earn a living wage.

More Than Money Is at Stake

Robin Fretwell Wilson, law professor

President Obama has gotten flack for My Brother's Keeper, but he was right to focus on men, because for men, marriage and work go together.

It's Even Harder for People of Color

Steven W. Bender, author, "Tierra y Libertad"

The 2007 case of the hard-working Mexican immigrant couple in Oregon shows how difficult it is to have the modest home and the white picket fence.

For Blacks, There Is Another Dream

Lester Spence, political scientist

The dream rooted in beliefs about racial equality, particularly along political and economic lines, is under siege. The wealth gap between blacks and whites keeps growing.

The American Dream Is Alive

Daniel J. Mitchell, Cato Institute

And if we can restrain the size and scope of government, there's every reason to believe that the America Dream will be strong for the rest of the 21st century.

13.25 | 0 komentar | Read More