U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Review Arizona’s 20-Week Abortion Ban

Abortion, , ,

The following blog post is by Family Council staff member Ken Yang.

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review Arizona’s fetal pain law banning abortions starting at 20 weeks. The justices gave no reason for refusing to review the case.

Arizona’s law is similar to one passed in Arkansas last year as well as laws in many other states around the country.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the bill into law in April, 2012, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck it down saying it violated the standards set by Roe v. Wade.

Arizona’s 20-week ban is the first to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. Texas appears to be next in line with the court system, so be on the lookout. Sooner or later the U.S. Supreme Court will have to begin hearing the people and the 55 plus million lives that have been silenced by abortion.

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Obama Admin. “Shows Contempt” for States, Federal Courts, Congress

Marriage,

Today, Attorney General Eric Holder announced the federal government would recognize any same-sex marriage licenses that have been issued in Utah.

As you may be aware, a federal judge declared same-sex marriage legal in Utah last month, and the state was forced to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in spite of the states ban on gay marriage. This week, however, the U.S. Supreme Court put a stay on the judge’s ruling until the matter can be appealed and decided by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In keeping with the decision, the State of Utah has said it will not recognize the same-sex marriage licenses issued between the initial judge’s ruling and the Supreme Court decision. The Obama Administration, however, has unilaterally decided to ignore the Supreme Court, saying it will recognize the marriage licenses even though those licenses are not currently valid.

Family Research Council released a statement about the decision, which says in part,

“The Obama administration’s decision today is an effort to make law in the breach and shows contempt for the states, the federal courts, and Congress. It only adds to the administrative chaos by flouting Utah’s marriage law and is in contrast to the U.S. Supreme Court’s cautious approach in granting a stay in the case. The Department of Justice’s announcement is doing the very thing which the Supreme Court condemned in the U.S. vs. Windsor decision – ‘creating two contradictory marriage regimes within the same State.'”

Here’s the problem: There is no federal marriage license. Marriage licenses are issued by states, and the federal government defers to states in determining whether or not someone is lawfully married. That was actually a point the U.S. Supreme Court touched on last summer when it struck part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

If the U.S. Supreme Court says the State of Utah does not have to recognize same-sex marriage, and if the State of Utah says these couples are not lawfully married, then the federal government really has very little grounds for saying otherwise.

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Oaklawn Lets People Wager $10,000+ on Credit

Gambling,

Last week we talked about Oaklawn racetrack’s new “Oaklawn Anywhere” website that lets people bet on horse races online.

The website lets people place bets literally from anywhere. If you have an internet connection, such as with a smart phone, you can gamble. You can also bet on horse races happening in other countries — all from your computer or mobile device.

So how are the bets placed? By credit card, debit card, ATM card, check, money transfer — basically any way you can get money to Oaklawn in Hot Springs.

And how much money can you wager? As much as you want.

(more…)

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