Supreme Court bobbleheads
Tag: Supreme Court of the United States
Finally. SCOTUS agrees to take on marriage equality
Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriages. The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear cases from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee over whether same-sex marriages should be legal throughout the nation or if individual states have the right to determine that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. It’s time for the question to be resolved. It’s time for equality for all Americans.
Time for an atheist justice on the Supreme Court
I’ve mentioned this here before that I’m a firm believer in the Separation of Church and State. Not because of my religious beliefs or non-beliefs but because I think Separation of Church and State is the best way to ensure that all Americans have the freedom to worship (or not) without intimidation or threats.
I think the Court is missing the point about allowing prayer in government institutions when using the “coercion” argument. The issue isn’t whether or not the actual prayer praises or denigrates a particular faith- it’s whether there should be any prayers at all before a public town council meeting. How about a moment of silence? One could recite the Lord’s Prayer, offer praise to Allah, or just mentally go over your grocery list. I myself would welcome a moment of silence before having to listen to politicians start blabbering.
Supreme Court pushes Church & State closer together
Just a few minutes ago the Supreme Court ruled that the town of Greece didn’t violate the Constitution by opening their council meetings with a Christian prayer. More on this later but here’s a related cartoon from 2001:
No cameras in the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this past Tuesday for Sebelius v Hobby Lobby, one of the cases which brings up the question whether a business can deny its female employees birth control coverage under Obamacare because of the owners’ religious beliefs. As usual, the line for public seating started early. This is the scene Saturday morning:
By Tuesday the line had grown to this:
Only about 100 members of the public are seated for SCOTUS arguments; about another 100 seats are for the press and select choice seats are designated for guests of the Justices. Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom so the majority of Americans never get the opportunity to watch as one of their three branches of government makes important decisions which affect their civil liberties and personal lives.
My take about cameras in the courtroom from the Washington Post’s Post Partisan blog yesterday.
Here’s a good piece by Washington Post blogger Alyssa Rosenberg on the subject of cartoonists being allowed in the court.