Aftermath of attacks in Paris; federal judge strikes down Oklahoma ban on same-sex marriage; no WMDs found in Iraq; LBJ and MLK Jr. chat on the phone; and women denied vote

⇒ What You Were Talking About This Week: the Aftermath

Attention (and tensions) this week still largely centered on the attacks in Paris though the conversation shifted slightly. Whereas last week everyone from celebrities to your friend on Facebook stood in solidarity chanting “je suis Charlie” and invoking freedom of expression, this week more of the dialogue focused on security and the threat of a new wave of terrorism.

Since the events of January 7, France deployed 10,000 troops to boost domestic security, officials foiled terrorist plots in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, and the U.S., and politicians everywhere (but especially in Europe) called for new Internet censorship and surveillance methods. Politicians are rightfully struggling with how to protect core principles like free speech and individual liberty (bedrocks in the U.S.) while working to prevent future terrorist attacks. Where is the balance?

This is an issue that rose to the surface in June 2013 when Edward Snowden revealed he was the “whistleblower” behind The Guardian’s publication of classified National Security Agency (NSA) documents. However, it’s not a product of the post-9/11 world; the U.S. has walked the line for nearly a century.

Another interesting element of the story that emerged (or re-emerged) this week is the role of religion and, sadly, hostility toward Muslims. No one said it better than Malek Merabet, the brother of Ahmed, a police officer killed in last week’s attack at Charlie Hebdo. His eulogy contains some of the same messages, but none clearer than what he said during a press conference: “My brother was Muslim and he was killed by people who pretend to be Muslims. They are terrorists, that’s it.”

⇒ Last Year: State-by-State

On January 14, 2014, U.S. District Judge Terence C. Kern struck down Oklahoma’s ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. In November 2004, Oklahomans overwhelmingly voted to approve the ban, Oklahoma Question 711. In his opinion for the case, Jude Kern argued, “Equal protection is at the very heart of our legal system and central to our consent to be governed.”

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals also declared the ban unconstitutional but delayed the ruling to allow for a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. When, at the beginning of the current term, the Supreme Court declined to review the federal appeals court’s decision, same-sex couples in Oklahoma began to wed.

Flash forward to January 16, 2015, when the Supreme Court announced it will decide whether same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the U.S. under the Constitution. Specifically, the Court will hear cases from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee—all states where an appeals court recently ruled to uphold certain marriage restrictions (going against the tide). In 2012, 9 states and D.C. allowed same-sex marriage. Today, 36 states and D.C. allow same-sex couples to wed. And the majority of Americans support same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in April and hand down a historic ruling on what many regard as among the most important civil rights issues of the day before the end of their term in June.

⇒ 10 Years Ago: No WMDs

In mid-January 2005, just shy of two years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq began, inspectors called off their search for weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The Iraq Survey Group, headed by Charles Duelfer, concluded its fact-finding mission months after releasing a report, which stated “The ISG has not found evidence that Saddam possessed WMD stocks in 2003, but [there is] the possibility that some weapons existed in Iraq, although not of a militarily significant capability.” For the record, when Duelfer first took the job he stated the chances of finding weapons stockpiles was “close to nil.”

Nonetheless, the Bush Administration defended its decision to invade Iraq. During a press briefing, White House spokesman Scott McClellan cited the regime’s “history of using weapons of mass destruction and. . .defying the international community.” He added, “We had the attacks on September 11 that taught us we must confront threats before it’s too late.” America’s experience with Iraq continues to influence both policymakers’ decisions about the limits of American influence and American attitudes toward war and foreign engagement.

⇒ 50 Years Ago: An Important Game of Phone Tag       

Speaking of civil rights issues, 50 years ago President Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King, Jr. got on the phone to talk about voting rights and poverty. This was not their first conversation. President Johnson called Dr. King three days after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Over the course of the next few years, the president solicited Dr. King’s advice on an anti-poverty agenda—which President Johnson would go on to outline in his State of the Union address.

In the January 15, 1965 call, President Johnson communicated that voting rights will answer “70 percent of your problems” to which Dr. King simply replied, “Yes.” Johnson cut him off (as is typical of most of the conversation) to say we should ”make it age and [the ability to] read about write. No tests on what [Geoffrey] Chaucer said or [Robert] Browning’s poetry. . .”

Johnson was returning a call to discuss MLK Jr.’s idea for a “Negro in the Cabinet.” Later, the conversation returned to voting rights. President Johnson boiled it down: “every person born in this country and when they reach a certain age, that he have a right to vote, just like he has a right to fight” to which King replied, simply, “That’s right.”

⇒ 100 Years Ago: Women Denied Vote

Women cast ballots in the 1920 election for the first time after nearly 100 years of seeking the vote. The women’s suffrage movement began in earnest in the 1820s and witnessed many setbacks over the course of the struggle. One such setback occurred on January 12, 1915, when the House of Representatives rejected an amendment to the Constitution that would have given women the vote nationwide. At least the measure was supposedly debated for “more than 10 hours” according to reports.

The foundation for women’s suffrage was set at what became known as the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. There, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott read a “Declaration of Sentiments and Grievances” which closely mirrored the language in the Declaration of Independence. Stanon, who, like Moss, was an abolitionist, collected news clippings reporting on what became known as the first Women’s Rights Convention. My personal favorite is from The Mechanic’s Advocate, which refers to the gathering as “all wrong” and adds, “Every true-hearted female will instantly feel that it is unwomanly.”

Following the House vote, the suffrage movement heeded President Wilson’s advice and focused on making change at the state and local level. Just a year later, in 1916, Jeannette Rankin (a suffragist) became the first woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Upon her election, Rankin observed, “I may be the first woman member of Congress. But I won’t be the last.” Today, more than 100 women serve in the House and Senate. Progress, slowly but surely.