Law

A member of the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization (right) is confronted by a pro-gay-marriage activist outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Politics & Government

Outside the Supreme Court, The Arguments Continue

5:58pm March 27, 2013

As oral arguments were held Tuesday in the first of two same-sex-marriage cases inside the Supreme Court, the steps and sidewalks outside were transformed into a public forum of sorts on the issue.

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National

California's Proposition 8 Gets Its Day In The Supreme Court

5:58pm March 27, 2013

by Carrie Johnson

The Supreme Court began a two-day legal test of gay marriage laws on Tuesday, and the questions asked by some of the justices suggested they did not think the California ban on same-sex marriage belonged in their court.

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Proposition 8 Case Has High Political Stakes For Both Parties

5:58pm March 27, 2013

Mara Liasson joins talks to Audie Cornish about the politics of Tuesday's court argument on gay marriage. Public opinion has shifted rapidly in favor on the issue, and the Supreme Court decision this summer on whether states can ban same-sex marriage and whether federal benefits should flow to same sex partners promise to roil the water again.

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At Arguments, Supreme Court Takes Halting Steps Into Gay Marriage Issue

5:58pm March 27, 2013

by Nina Totenberg

At oral arguments on the constitutionality of California's law banning same-sex marriage, the justices parried over the history of the institution of marriage. They also debated an essential question: Should the case be in the Supreme Court at all?

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World News

Italian Law, Extradition And Amanda Knox

2:02pm March 27, 2013

The Italian Supreme Court ordered that Amanda Knox be retried for the 2007 murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher. This decision overturned her acquittal from 2011. If she's found guilty this time around, she could face extradition.

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A pro-gay-marriage protester stands in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, the first of two days of oral arguments on challenges to laws that limit the definition of marriage to unions of a man and a woman.

National

DOMA Challenge Tests Federal Definition Of Marriage

1:15pm March 27, 2013

by Nina Totenberg

The Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition and benefits for same-sex couples. The case involves a woman charged a hefty estate tax when her spouse died, which she would not have owed if her spouse had been a man.

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The Epidemiology Of Gun Violence: Race, Region And Policy

2:25pm March 26, 2013

A Washington Post analysis of statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds a correlation between gun deaths, and race and geographic location. African Americans are much more likely to be victims of gun-related homicide, whereas whites are more likely to commit suicide.

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A Recap Of Proposition 8's Day At The Supreme Court

2:22pm March 26, 2013

The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on California's ban on same-sex marriage, known as Proposition 8. David Savage, Supreme Court correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, provides analysis of extensive excerpts from the courtroom proceedings.

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Snow covers flowers in front of the Supreme Court building on Monday in Washington, D.C. On Tuesday, the justices hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage.

In First Of 2 Gay-Marriage Cases, Court Turns To Proposition 8

9:57am March 26, 2013

by Nina Totenberg

The justices on Tuesday hear a case that stems from a constitutional challenge to the California ban on same-sex marriage that was enacted by voter initiative in 2008. And on Wednesday, the court hears a challenge to the federal law that bars the U.S. government from recognizing gay marriages.

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Abortion Opponents Gear Up For More Battles

9:57am March 26, 2013

by Kathy Lohr

In North Dakota, voters will decide next year whether to approve a constitutional amendment saying life begins at conception. A number of other bills in that state await the governor's signature including one that prohibits abortion if a fetal heartbeat is present at about six weeks. In Arkansas, a ban at 12 weeks passed earlier this month. Abortion opponents hope to get one of those laws before the U.S. Supreme Court.

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