Historic Supreme Court arguments on Tuesday: Should gay marriage be the law of the land? ADVERTISING Historic Supreme Court arguments on Tuesday: Should gay marriage be the law of the land? WASHINGTON (AP) — Tuesday is a potential watershed moment
Historic Supreme Court arguments on Tuesday: Should gay marriage be the law of the land?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tuesday is a potential watershed moment for America’s gay and lesbian couples. After rapid changes that have made same-sex marriage legal in all but 14 states, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether it should be the law of the land.
All eyes will be on the justices for any signals that they are prepared to rule that the Constitution forbids states from defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. On the sidewalk outside, people have been waiting in line since Friday for prized seats for the historic arguments.
The cases before the court come from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, all of which had their marriage bans upheld by the federal appeals court in Cincinnati in November. That is the only federal appeals court that has ruled in favor of the states since the Supreme Court in 2013 struck down part of the federal anti-gay marriage law.
The first state to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry was Massachusetts, in 2004. Even as recently as October, barely a third of the states permitted it. Now, same-sex couples can marry in 36 states and the District of Columbia, a dramatic change in the law that has been accompanied by an equally fast shift in public opinion.
Now that everyone else has weighed in through mountains of legal briefs, the justices get to say, or at least hint, what they will decide. On Tuesday, five lawyers will present arguments over 2½ hours to help the court conclude whether, on this question, the 14 remaining states must join the rest of the country.
Obama administration seeks to advance Iran deal as Senate weighs how hard to press the brakes
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration moved on two fronts Monday to advance its nuclear diplomacy with Iran, with talks between top U.S. and Iranian diplomats and an aggressive effort to sell the emerging deal to skeptical American lawmakers and constituencies.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif were to meet Monday in New York for the first time since world powers and Iran sealed a framework agreement on April 2 that would limit Iran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon. They now have little more than two months to meet their own deadline of June 30 for a comprehensive accord.
In Washington, lead U.S. negotiator Wendy Sherman told a conference of reform Jews that diplomatic collapse would leave Iran perilously close to nuclear weapons capacity. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said a final agreement would in some ways be tougher than what the U.S. has outlined thus far.
All the activity was taking place before the Senate begins debate Tuesday over empowering Congress to review and possibly reject any nuclear pact. Republican presidential candidates are lining up to oppose any deal with a government the U.S. considers the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and to show their support for Israel.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida wants to require Iran’s leaders to publicly accept Israel’s right to exist, a nearly impossible mandate. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas hopes to put the onus on advocates to win congressional approval of a deal, and not on opponents to gather enough votes for rejection.
Prosecutor: Colorado gunman planned for maximum slaughter to avenge school failure, breakup
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — A prosecutor declared Monday that two psychiatric exams found Colorado theater gunman James Holmes to be sane as he meticulously plotted a mass murder, considering a bomb or biological warfare before settling on a shooting so that he could inflict more “collateral damage.”
“Meticulous” was how Holmes twice described his plans during the exams, District Attorney George Brauchler said at the start of a long-awaited trial to determine if he’ll be executed, spend his life in prison, or be committed to an institution as criminally insane.
“Boom!” Brauchler said repeatedly as he showed pictures of the victims and the weapons that killed them on a screen, describing in detail how bullets pierced their organs and destroyed their limbs. “Boom!”
“I shot at people trying to get away. I shot at people trying to leave the theater … to make sure others wouldn’t follow,” Holmes later told a psychiatrist, the prosecutor said.
The former neuroscience student has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murdering 12 people and wounding 70 at a midnight “Batman” premiere nearly three years ago.
