Gay Rights and The Judicial System

In 1994, The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was enacted and states that in the eyes of federal law, the words "marriage" and "spouse" refer to legal unions between one man and one woman. 

Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer were married in Toronto, Canada in 2007; their marriage was recognized by the state of New York. In 2009, Thea died and left her estate to spouse Edith, but because their marriage was not recognized by federal law, the government imposed $363,000 in taxes. However, if their marriage would have been recognized by federal law, no taxes would have been imposed because their esate would have qualified for marital exemption. 

In November of 2010, Windsor filed suit in court seeking a declaration that DOMA was unconstitutional. This seemed almost impossible because at the time the goverment was in full support of DOMA; however, on February 23, 2011, the President and the Attorney General announced that they would not defend The Defense of Marriage Act. On April 18, 2011, the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House of Representatives motioned to dismiss the case, but the  district court denied the motion, and held that DOMA was unconstitutional. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed.

By a vote of 5-4, the Supreme Court held that the purpose and effect of DOMA was to create a "disadvantage, a separate status, and so a stigma" of same-sex couples. They ruled that because of this, DOMA was in violation of the 5th Ammendment's guarantee of equal protection. 

Obama's Way

I thought this interview was very interesting in the sense that it was so casual and unofficial. 

I learned a lot about the President and his life outside his demanding job of running the country. I enjoyed reading about how "normal" he is and how he is so effortless in trransitioning from her proper serious role into a more laid back role. I thought it was interesting how he coach's his daughter's basketball team and how he is so open to being involved in other things than his job.

Reading this article made me think of many celebrities who use their fame to get attention and direct the spotlight on them. I think today many celebrities use the media in order to further their fame. I admire how Obama doesn't use his title in this type of way. In certain cases, celebrities use the media to blend their professional lives and personal lives together by making sure the good deed they do are photographed to make them look good. I like how Obama does the activities that he does, for example playing basketball, solely because he enjoys to--not to make headlines.

One question I have would be when does Obama have the time to go out and do what he wants? Does he work around the clock? In an interview with Newsweek, Obama explains his daily schedule as follows...

"I'm a night owl. My usual day [is]: I work out in the morning; I get to the office around 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.; work till about 6:30 p.m.; have dinner with the family, hang out with the kids and put them to bed about 8:30 p.m. And then I'll probably read briefing papers or do paperwork or write stuff until about 11:30 p.m. and then I usually have about a half hour to read before I go to bed . . . about midnight, 12:30 a.m. -- sometimes a little later."

Legislation Recently Passed in Congress

Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013

 There are over 5,000 bills and resolutions currently being seen by Congress. They must all be enacted before the 2013-2015 session--which is made up of the "113th Congress." However, only 5% of those bills will become law. Recently, one act was lucky enough to be passed by the Senate, Congress, and even signed by the President. The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 was passed to amend the previous act passed in 1994. This new act makes many changes to the Act, such as: amending the Violence Against Women Act of 2000, amending the federal criminal code, and revising the grant programs for supporting families with a history of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

This bill was introduced to Congress and reported to committees in January of this year. It was passed by the Senate in February 12 by a vote of 78 to 22. Then it was sent to the House, and on February 28, they passed the bill by a vote of 286 to 138. This bill was enacted after being signed by the President on March 7, 2013.