Massachusetts legislature blocks statewide vote on same-sex marriage ban News
Massachusetts legislature blocks statewide vote on same-sex marriage ban

[JURIST] Massachusetts lawmakers on Thursday voted against allowing a statewide vote on a proposed constitutional amendment [text] defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. A total of 50 votes were needed to advance the amendment, but only 45 lawmakers supported the proposal, with 151 voting against. Unlike previous joint sessions on the issue, there was no debate. Advocates of the proposal [JURIST report] collected and delivered more than 170,000 signatures to the secretary of state demanding the right to vote on the legality of same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive].

In 2003, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage [Globe timeline] with the state high court's decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health [text; JURIST report]. More than 8,500 gay couples have been married in Massachusetts since May 2004. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.