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June 30, 2015
Top Stories
5 Points On How Gay Marriage Foes Are In Deep, Deep Denial
The Gist: Opponents of same-sex marriage are using rather creative tactics to sidestep the Supreme Court’s ruling, such as suggesting the government stop issuing marriage licenses altogether.
NBC Universal Dumps Donald Trump Over Mexico ‘Rapist’ Remarks
The Gist: The broadcast network joined Univision in cutting business ties with Trump over his derogatory comments about immigrants.
Ala. Chief Justice Roy Moore Comes Undone After Gay Marriage Ruling
The Gist: Moore, a vehement opponent of same-sex marriage, warned that the ruling will infringe on the religious freedoms of Christians in the U.S., asking “is there such a thing as morality anymore?”
From The Reporter’s Notebook
As Tierney Sneed reported Monday, Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg said it was “highly likely” that the death penalty itself was unconstitutional. Breyer’s dissent cited the decades-long delays death row inmates face between sentencing and execution as possible violations of the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. This is not the first time Breyer has expressed such a concern, often called the “ Lackey claim,” and last summer a federal judge in California cited the long wait times on death row when declaring one man’s death sentence unconstitutional.
Agree or Disagree?
“ There is no religious liberty to deny rights to other people. Your religion does not obligate you take a job in which you swear to enforce public law. There’s no fundamental right to be a county clerk.” – Josh Marshall
Say What?!
“History moves fast. It’s hard to believe that gay Americans achieved full constitutional personhood just five years after corporations did!”
– Stephen Colbert published a video in which he congratulated the LGBT community on their newfound rights.
BUZZING: Today in the Hive
From a TPM Prime member: “Why would Roberts care about getting hell from the right? He doesn’t have to worry about being primaried by the Tea Party. He faces completely different political incentives than the rest of the GOP. I always think Roberts makes his decisions politically, but he prefers to make small moves towards the conservative direction. He is playing the long game focused on the long term legitimacy of the court. The one real exception was the Citizens United case which can hurt his legitimacy the most. I think Justice Roberts and Kennedy didn’t predict the full impact of such a decision at the time. They probably thought it would help the Republican party out, but probably didn’t think that it will lead to a couple of billionaires controlling the whole party. The bigger Super PACs get and the more Presidential candidates flaunt the law, the more questionable the Citizens United decision will become.”
Related: Public disapproval of Citizens United has only deepened since 2010.
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What We’re Reading
Meet the new, dangerous fringe of the anti-vaccination movement. ( Jezebel)
From the people who live and work there — “this is Rikers Island.” (The Marshall Project)
The moral of the Greek story. (Bloomberg)
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