Cheryl Wetzstein
Articles by Cheryl Wetzstein
Backlash grows at N.Y. ruling on viewing of child porn
In the wake of a New York court ruling that says it's not illegal to "merely" view online child pornography, child advocates are urging Internet-savvy federal prosecutors to take over these kinds of cases as two state lawmakers rush to fix the law. Published May 13, 2012
Obama lauded, hammered for gay-marriage stance
Gay-rights and traditional-values groups reacted swiftly Wednesday to President Obama's open support for gay marriage, which came hours after North Carolina citizens voted in a landslide to block such nuptials. Published May 9, 2012
N.C. votes to not allow same-sex marriage
North Carolina voters made their state the 32nd in the nation to recognize marriage as a union of only one man and one woman. Published May 8, 2012
Domestic-violence law advanced by House panel
A House panel passed a bill Tuesday to renew the nation's domestic-violence prevention law over objections of Democrats who said it didn't go far enough to protect certain groups and rolled back protections for others. Published May 8, 2012
North Carolina voting on gay marriage
Opponents of North Carolina's marriage amendment are aiming to pull out a surprise victory Tuesday, while supporters are fighting to ensure that their state joins the rest of the South in saying that only marriages between one man and one woman are legally valid. Published May 6, 2012
Ban urged on therapy to convert gays
California groups that support parental rights and therapies to help people escape unwanted same-sex attractions are fighting a first-of-its-kind California bill that would ban such sessions for teens and children, and discourage them for adults. Published May 3, 2012
Senate OKs renewal of anti-violence law
The Senate on Thursday handily passed a bill to renew the federal government's main program to prevent domestic violence, but many Republicans declined to support it because they said it was loaded up with too many new provisions that were unneeded or unconstitutional. Published April 26, 2012
GOP wants to keep politics out of domestic-violence bill
House Republicans said Wednesday that they intend to swiftly pass a domestic-violence law and remove the issue from election-year politicizing, though the Democrat-led Senate is prepared to vote on a different bill on the issue Thursday. Published April 25, 2012
Clash over bill to protect women
The Senate is poised to take up this week a bill addressing domestic violence, but past bipartisan support for reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has frayed and two Republican lawmakers are preparing their own alternative measure. Published April 22, 2012
Lawmaker backs Catholic bishops
The author of the nation's laws to protect human-trafficking victims said Wednesday he supports Catholic bishops in their efforts to overturn a federal judge's ruling and correct what they view as an "abuse of power" by the Obama administration. Published April 18, 2012
Dueling reasons for the falling teen birthrate
The good news that U.S. teen birthrates are continuing to fall has resurrected the debate about how much credit for the trend should go to contraception and how much to abstinence. Published April 15, 2012
States make headway on abortion restriction
At least 75 bills to restrict abortion passed one state legislative chamber in the first quarter of 2012, the Guttmacher Institute said Friday. Published April 15, 2012
Bishops plea against obeying ‘unjust laws’
A panel of the nation's Catholic bishops said Thursday that their flock "must have the courage not to obey unjust laws" and called for Catholic political leaders, clergy and laity to pray, fast and speak out for religious liberty during a two-week period that ends on Independence Day. Published April 12, 2012
Plunging birthrate of U.S. teens ‘amazing’
In 16 states, teen birthrates tumbled by at least 20 percent in recent years, the federal government said in a report. Large declines such as these helped push the nation's teen birthrate to a new low in 2010. Published April 10, 2012
Child abuse shames and silences victims
The child sex-abuse accusations against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky are staggering and yet familiar. Published April 8, 2012
Appeals court hears case for gay marriage
A three-judge federal appellate court heard arguments Wednesday on whether a 1996 federal law that defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman - thus denies marital benefits to gay couples married under state law - is constitutional. Published April 4, 2012
It takes more time to deliver a baby than in the 1960s, study finds
While everything else in the modern world is go-go-go, the miracle of birth is actually taking a little longer these days. Published April 2, 2012
Missouri school district yields on Web filters
A Missouri school district has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union over student access to pro-gay websites. Published March 29, 2012
Mo. school agrees to unblock gay websites
A Missouri school district has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union over student access to pro-gay websites. Published March 29, 2012
Papers reveal plans of foes of gay marriage
Gay-rights groups are trumpeting the disclosure of internal strategic and financial documents written three years ago by their most formidable opponent in the gay-marriage battle. Published March 27, 2012