The shootings that occurred friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School have people asking the question how it will affect opinion on gun control. In the 1990's people felt the need to have gun control laws, but today, the view has changed. In recent polls conducted after a number of shootings including the Colorado movie theater shooting, the majority still feel like little to no gun control laws need to be implemented. Statistics have shown that after most shootings, people tend to be unfazed in their opinion on gun control. However, in a poll conducted right after the shootings, public opinion has changed. Even though before this event, the numbers were roughly 50/50 for those who opposed and supported gun control laws. According to this survey 44% of people believe in strict gun control laws while only 32% are opposed. Also after the shooting, only 24% of people believe the shooting had more to do with other problems in American society like mental illness, while the majority feel it was an isolated case of an unstab  

On December 2nd, the Supreme Court Judges held a conference to decide wether or not to hear 3 cases involving same-sex marriage. They delayed their decision and held a conference on Friday December 7th, which confirmed the hearing of two of the three cases. One case comes from California and the other from New York. President Obama has already declared that his administration will not defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which says that marriage is strictly between a man and a women, and the benefits  such as health insurance, medical leave and taxes that go along with it are concealed to that kind of marriage. Along with this, four district courts and two courts of appeal have declared DOMA unconstitutional, stating that it violates the guarantee  of equality. The California case has to deal with the State Supreme Court case overruling of Proposition 8, which was a referendum in California to ban same-sex marriage after the State Supreme Court made it legal. Speculations can be drawn that the Supreme Court will review the right to marry and the benefits that go along with it. So far, 31 states have laws protecting the traditional marriage between a man and a women.  

The Justices of the Supreme court held a closed-door conference Friday to consider changes in the issue of same-sex marriage. There are three issues that the Justices were considering, although, they did not report on anything after the conference. This may either be because they need more time to consider the legal questions. Some of which include federal tax, Social Security, pension, and bankruptcy benifits which do not apply to same-sex couples. The decision to review these three cases are highly anticipated by same-sex marriage activist groups. Another theory why they did not report on their decision is simply because they are delaying their decision. Another conference will be held on December 7th.