The Supreme Court recently announced that they would review the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California's Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that established marriage as between one man and one woman. The Defense of Marriage Act, passed in 1996 by large majorities in both houses of Congress, defined for federal purposes marriage as the legal union between one man and one woman. Under this act, no state is required to recognize any same-sex union performed in another state.
These two cases present a large opportunity for the Supreme Court to change the dynamic of LGBT equality around the country. Any decision the Supreme Court makes will likely have effects that reach far into the future.
Over recent years, the tide has turned regarding the public opinion on same-sex marriage. More and more people, polls have found, believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.
The fact that the Supreme Court has even considered these cases means we have come a long way since initial days of extreme injustice.
Here is a PBS NewsHour report on the big news:
It will certainly be interesting to see how the conservative justices, namely Justice Kennedy and Chief Justice Roberts, react to this case.
California Proposition 29 proposes a $1.00 increase in taxes per pack of cigarettes. The money from this new tax would go to funding cancer research, tobacco reduction programs, and law enforcement against the improper use of tobacco.
If it is passed at all.
The money of big tobacco is ardently against Prop 29, which will appear on California's June 5 ballot. Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds tobacco companies have committed over $30 million to stop this measure. They know that this proposition has the potential to significantly reduce their profits. If enacted, Prop 29 will help reduce incidences of smoking and improve cancer research. We need funds for this now more than ever because of the fiscal crisis in California, making it impossible to use other state funds for Prop 29 target areas. Therefore, we must pay for it in other ways. In having the smokers themselves pay for it, we make cigarettes more expensive and fund health programs relating to tobacco use.
With the passage of Proposition 29, we can look forward to a healthier population.
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