Today the Supreme Court hears the first of two cases on the constitutionality of gay marriage. The first case is Hollingsworth v. Perry, a challenge to California’s Proposition 8, the voter-approved, state constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage back in 2008. On Wednesday, the nation’s highest court will hear United States v. Windsor, the case that will […]
The Southern drawl of Tom Petty. The epic, slow grandeur of “Gone with the Wind.” The “Sound and Fury” of a NASCAR photo finish. The savory smells of the kitchenette — all are reminiscent of a Southern way of life we think we know. The real South, though, is considerably more complex. It’s also rapidly […]
In America, gay and lesbians have more legal rights than ever before. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has come to an end. Domestic partnerships are legal in over a dozen states. And as of November 2012, couples can marry in nine states, plus Washington D.C. But despite this, gay people face a litany of challenges in […]
More than 30 years ago, California voters passed a ballot initiative to broaden the reach of the state’s death penalty system. The law was intended to serve as a national model for how capital punishment should function in America. The expansion is called the Briggs Initiative, named after two of the architects of the law: […]