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28 Jul, 1868

Ratified

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The United States ratifies the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The amendment grants citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” which includes former slaves who had just been freed after the Civil War. Known as the “Reconstruction Amendment,” it forbids any state to deny any person “life, liberty or property, without due process of law” or to “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

20 Feb, 2003

Funding approved

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After a hard political battle, President Bush signs an omnibus bill which includes $110 million in initial funding for NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt System. The funding allows the team to proceed with the final design of the probe.

It’s like the old days. We are going to the frontier. We’re going back to the roots of the space program.

17 May, 2004

Massachusetts marries gay couples

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1179337063_9680More than 1,000 gay and lesbian couples stream into Boston and town halls across Massachusetts seeking licenses to marry after the state legalizes same-sex marriage.  The woman who is first in line to apply for her marriage license camped out in front of Cambridge City Hall with her bride-to-be says:

To have the highest court in the state affirm your right to be a family was wonderful, and it just gave you courage.

11 Mar, 2011

Signs bill

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Walker signs a bill to take away most of the union’s collective bargaining rights. The State Assembly stripped the budget repair bill of its spending language so they were not required to have a quorum of members present since the Democratic senators still refuse to return to the Senate.

What we’re doing here, I think, is progressive. It’s innovative. It’s reform that leads the country, and we’re showing there’s a better way by sharing in that sacrifice with all of us in government.

Democrats and union leaders continue to oppose the Republican bill. Senate minority leader Miller:

Republicans may have achieved a short-term policy goal, but their radical agenda, the war on working families, has been exposed, and the people of Wisconsin and across the country are united against it as never before.

20 Apr, 2011

Lifts state of emergency

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Syria’s government passes a law to lift the country’s state of emergency as protests against the rule of Assad continue. The state security court is abolished while a law allowing peaceful protests is approved. The repeal of the emergency law is a key demand of protesters.

[The people should] refrain from taking part in all marches, demonstrations or sit-ins under any banner whatsoever. [If demonstrations are held] the laws in force in Syria will be applied in the interest of the safety of the people and the stability of the country.

5 May, 2011

Voids paid sick leave ordinance

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Walker signs a bill voiding Milwaukee’s paid sick leave ordinance which was passed by a popular referendum. The ordinance required large businesses to provide nine days and small businesses five days of paid sick leave per year. The ordinance has been challenged in the courts and has never gone into effect.

This law removes another barrier in the road to creating 250,000 private sector jobs by 2015. Patchwork government mandates stifle job creation and economic opportunity. This law gives employers the flexibility they need to put people back to work and that makes Wisconsin a more attractive place to do business.

25 May, 2011

Signs voter photo ID law

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Walker signs a bill requiring voters to show a photo ID at the polls.

To me, something as important as a vote is important whether it’s one case, one hundred cases or one hundred thousand cases. Making sure we have legislation that protects the integrity for an open, fair and honest election in every single case is important.

26 Jun, 2011

Signs budget

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Walker signs a two-year $66 billion budget that cuts almost $800 million from public schools, expands taxpayer support for private voucher schools, cuts taxes for businesses, and keeps property taxes the same, helping to eliminate a $3 billion deficit without raising taxes. It is estimated the state’s main account will have a $300 million surplus by June 2013. Walker uses his power to veto fifty items in the budget.

Our balanced budget makes tough choices while also providing a path to prosperity for our state and our people. Through honest budgeting, we are providing an alternative to the reckless tricks and gimmicks of the past. To move forward together, we are acknowledging that we have to make sacrifices to protect the next generation by decreasing the serious debt that they would otherwise inherit.

Assembly Minority Leader Barca criticizes Walker’s budget and vetoes as helping businesses but hurting the poor and middle class.

His vetoes don’t change the fact that his budget serves corporate special interests at the expense of Wisconsin’s small businesses and middle class. Time and again, Gov. Walker has gone out of his way to limit public scrutiny of his extreme agenda and it comes as no surprise that the governor used many of his vetoes to take away public accountability and further consolidate power in his administration.

8 Jul, 2011

Signs concealed-carry bill

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Walker signs a bill allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons after going through training, passing a background check and obtaining a permit. The bill also bans guns from certain locations and allows private businesses to ban guns on their premises.

By signing concealed carry into law today we are making Wisconsin safer for all responsible, law abiding citizens.

5 Apr, 2012

Repeals Equal Pay Enforcement Act

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Walker signs a bill repealing the 2009 Equal Pay Enforcement Act which allowed workers to sue employers for wage discrimination in the cheaper and more accessible state courts rather than in federal court. Senator Grothman argues the act was hurting businesses who had to defend themselves from false accusations of discrimination:

It’s an underreported problem, but a huge number of discrimination claims are baseless. Most of them are filed by fired employees, and really today almost anybody is a protected class. As a result many companies are forced to pay fired employees to go away [and it has] raised the cost of doing business in the state to intolerable levels.

Senator Sinicki, who co-authored the act, opposes its repeal:

This whole session has been anti-woman and anti-middle class, and this fits right in with that agenda.

30 May, 2014

Minnesota legalizes

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Governor Dayton signs legislation that makes Minnesota the 22nd state to legalize medicinal marijuana. Minnesotans who are sick or in serious pain may use marijuana, although they may not smoke it. More specifically, they will still not be allowed to access cannabis in leaf form. The drug will be available by mid-2015 in pill and vapor form, as well as in oil form (which has proven especially successful in treating children with seizures). However, pot advocates say that the best and most beneficial way to consume the drug is in its natural form. Patients worry that by signing up for the medical marijuana program, they could be putting themselves at risk of falling into the grasp of police.

4 Nov, 2014

Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C. legalize marijuana

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Voters in Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C. approve marijuana legalization. In Oregon, the law legalizes personal possession, manufacture and sale of marijuana for people 21 years of age and older, as well as create a commercial regulatory system for the production, distribution and sale of marijuana. Alaska’s law taxes and regulates the production, sale and use of marijuana, making the use legal for people over 21 years old. Washington, D.C.’s proposal allows for a person over 21 years old to possess up to two ounces of marijuana for personal use and grow up to six cannabis plants in their home. It also allows people to transfer up to one ounce of marijuana to another person, but not sell it. Drug Policy Alliance:

The pace of reform is accelerating, other states are sure to follow, and even Congress is poised to wake from its slumber.

5 Jan, 2015

Restricts Syrian visas

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Lebanon begin imposing entry restrictions on Syrians as the country struggles to cope with more than a million refugees fleeing the civil war next door.  The government estimates there are about 1.5 million Syrians in Lebanon, about a quarter of the total population. Some 1.1 million are registered with the UN refugee agency. Lebanese officials say they simply cannot absorb any more. The policy requires Syrians to obtain visas that limit the time they can remain in Lebanon. Interior minister:

We have enough. There’s no capacity any more to host more displaced

Lebanese security officials say many Syrians are turned back at border crossings but they have no exact figures. The flow of Syrians through one popular crossing appears lower than normal. There are no plans to forcibly repatriate Syrians already in Lebanon.

13 May, 2015

Laramie approves anti-discrimination law

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The Laramie City Council approves a local anti-discrimination ordinance in the college town where Shepard’s death triggered nationwide sympathy and brought a re-examination of attitudes toward gays 17 years ago. The council votes 7-2 in favor of the measure that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, employment and access to public facilities such as restaurants. Local organizers focused their efforts on Laramie after the Legislature repeatedly rejected anti-discrimination bills, most recently early this year. Shepard’s mother:

I’m thrilled that Laramie’s doing it, at the same time sort of saddened that the state of Wyoming can’t see fit to do that as well.Maybe the rest of Wyoming will understand this is about fellow human beings and not something that’s other than what they are…But I feel like if Wyoming had done more to open the door to acceptance, that kind of reputation would have disappeared very quickly. Instead of taking advantage of the moment, they just sort of turned around and ran.

20 May, 2015

Signs cybersecurity order

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Christie signs an executive order he says will help protect New Jersey residents from cybersecurity attacks.

Cybersecurity is not just a national issue. Attacks consider to rise here and around our nation. As governor, it’s my job to ensure that 21st century threats … are met with 21st century solutions.

23 May, 2015

Gay Marriage referendum passes

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The people of The Republic of Ireland legalise same sex marriage in a nationwide referendum. Irish Minister for Equality, Ó Ríordáin:

Ireland is the first country in the world to introduce marriage equality by popular vote.

This change was supported by just over 62% of the population and is a significant win for LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) groups on a global scale.

Jun 2015

Reacts to ‘Obamacare’ decision

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Pres. Obama reacts to the Supreme Court decision on Affordable Care Act subsidies:

After multiple challenges to this law before the Supreme Court, the Affordable Care Act is here to stay.

He adds that, had the decision gone otherwise:

America would have gone backwards. That’s not what we do.

26 Jun, 2015

Jail for avoiding quarantine

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South Korea passes a law that imprisons people for up to two years if they defy quarantine orders when suspected of having an infectious disease. Police officers, firefighters, and other public workers will also help health investigators enforce the quarantine law. This is in response to the 181 confirmed cases and 31 deaths resulting from an infection by a 68-year-old man from the Middle East who withheld information from doctors in his itinerary. The quarantine law also publicizes information about a disease outbreak in response to criticism that South Korea delayed reporting of hospitals affected by MERS.