Crazy 8: Our Year in Review

May 21, 2010 Sharyn Jackson, Stephanie Schroeder, Abby Tallmer

Marriage Equality The battle for same-gender marriage raged on these past months, with Maine voters echoing the 2008 decision of California voters on Proposition 8 and choosing to take away marriage rights that had previously been given to gays and lesbians. On the upside, Vermont, Iowa, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia all passed laws allowing same-gender marriage in the past year. Connecticut and Massachusetts already have formalized gay marriage provisions.

This year has been a whirlwind. As we celebrate yet another milestone, we invite you to reflect with us upon the last 364 plus days’ high moments, low moments, and everything in between. In no particular order, the events that helped shape our year…

Bench Pressure

After the Bush administration appointed not one, but two, ultra-conservatives for the Supreme Court, the Obama Administration will finally make its own lasting mark on the court. When Justice David Souter retired last June after a 19-year stretch, Obama replaced him with the nation’s first Hispanic and third female Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor. In April, liberal Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement. Obama responded by selecting Manhattan native Elena Kagan, the current Solicitor General, as the potential fourth female Justice—and the fourth New Yorker on the bench. Confirmation hearings begin later this year.