Liz Halloran

How Vermont's 'Civil' War Fueled The Gay Marriage Movement

Liz Halloran — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:53:00 +0000

It wasn't so long ago that a handful of Vermont legislators in a shabby Statehouse committee room struggled over what to call their proposal to give marriage-like rights to the state's gay and lesbian residents.

Democrat Howard Dean, governor at the time, had already made clear he'd veto any legislation labeled "marriage." Suggestions like "domestic partner relationship" were too clunky; "civil accord," they decided, evoked a car model.

"We wanted something that sounded dignified," says William Lippert, a Democrat who was vice chairman of the House Judiciary Committee writing the law.

Rape Comments Complicate But Don't End GOP Senate Takeover Chances

Liz Halloran — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 21:19:32 +0000

The enthusiasm with which Democrats seized upon Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's philosophizing about God's plan for unborn children of women impregnated by rape may have suggested the Indiana Republican's election chances had just ended.

And, in the favored Democratic scenario, a Mourdock self-destruct would mean that the GOP's dreams of taking control of the U.S. Senate would once again be significantly hobbled by a Tea Party candidate.

Supreme Court cheat sheet Day 3: Scalia unplugged

Liz Halloran — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:54:12 +0000

On the final morning of its three-day health care law extravaganza, the U.S.

Supreme Court cheat sheet: A quick guide to the Day 2 arguments

Liz Halloran — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 22:23:44 +0000

A clearly divided U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday took up the centerpiece of President Obama's health care law: its requirement that by 2014 individuals have insurance coverage or face a penalty.

In contrast to Monday's dense and technical arguments, Tuesday's session was filled with sharp rhetorical volleys and clever analogies.