Ocean City’s prohibition on women going topless violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal treatment under the law because men are permitted to go bare-chested in the Eastern Shore beach town, a group of women told a federal appeals court this ...

Tagged with: equal protection fourteenth amendment gender discrimination sex discrimination

Business owners must put aside their religious objections to same-sex marriage and comply with state laws prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians in providing goods and services, Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh said this week in joining a U.S. Supreme ...

Tagged with: Bell v. Maryland first amendment fourteenth amendment free speech Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission Obergefell v. Hodges public accommodations religious freedom same-sex marriage

Civil unrest and rioting were a much more common concern when Maryland passed its Riot Act in 1835 permitting citizens to seek compensation from the government for damage to property sustained in a violent disturbance. The idea, at the time, ...

Tagged with: Baltimore riots fourteenth amendment Freddie Gray riot act