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University of Delaware
Associate director for Research at the University of Delaware's Center for Political Communication and author of Value War: Public Opinion and the Politics of Gay Rights
PROFILE
Paul Brewer
Guest
FROM Paul Brewer
To the Point
Same-Sex Marriage: Who Should Decide? The first time same-sex marriage was officially recognized was in Holland in 2001. Now, it's permitted in 36 American states and the District of Columbia. Today, the US Supreme Court was asked to overturn bans on the practice in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee — essentially legalizing it for the entire country. History and the speed of change were on the minds of justices including Anthony Kennedy, who observed, "I don't even know how to count the decimals when we talk about millennia. This definition has been with us for millennia, and it's very difficult for the court to say, 'oh well, we know better'." Can nine justices rule that gays and lesbians should be able to marry — or is that a right granted to individuals by the Constitution? Should the US Supreme Court let the democratic process continue state by state? These were some of the questions raised today in a case asking the Court to overturn gay-marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. We hear about some arguments rooted in ancient history and others based on the recent sea-change in public opinion.
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To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.