The news is coming fast and furious (literally) this week. Let's start with the big Supreme Court rulings dominating headlines. Yesterday, the Supremes invalidated a key part of the U.S. Voting Rights Act, which President Obama characterized as as "setback" in the fight against discrimination. Today, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court overturned a 17-year old federal law that had limited the definition of marriage as that being between a man and woman. As the LA Timesreports, today's landmark ruling
means that more than 100,000 gay and lesbian couples who are legally married will be able to take advantage of tax breaks, pension rights and other benefits that are available to other married couples.
And as USA Today observes:
The decision gives the high court's blessing, at least in part, to a gay-marriage movement that has gained momentum in the past decade and now stands on the threshold of full equality.
President Obama, who yesterday was chiding the Supremes for reversing historic social justice reforms, felt differently about today's news.
Today's DOMA ruling is a historic step forward for #MarriageEquality. #LoveIsLove — Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 26, 2013
Many people, including myself, will agree that today's ruling is indeed a hugely positive step forward in the country's history. And then there are going to be people who think it marks the end of western civilization. Or a slippery slope down that road.
The DOMA ruling has now made the normalization of polygamy, pedophilia, incest and bestiality inevitable. Matter of time. — Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) June 26, 2013
And I haven't even gotten to President Obama's big speech on climate change and the reaction to that.
