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| The following commentaries do not necessarily reflect the editorial judgment of Stateline.org or the Pew Center on the States. |
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 Commentaries 
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By Jeffrey Toobin, CNN
Proposition 8, the initiative passed by voters in 2008, is unconstitutional, a violation of the rights of gay and lesbian people who want to get married. No -- not yet.
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By Staff, The Washington Post
Is it unconstitutional to forbid same-sex couples from calling their unions a "marriage" if — as is the case in California — they enjoy the same legal rights and responsibilities as opposite-sex partners in the state?
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By E.J. Montini, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
I got a call from a reader Wednesday who remembered seeing me at the state Capitol in 1988 on the day the Arizona House voted on a bill to ban abortion.
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By Staff, The Denver Post
Can a criminal on probation be barred from smoking pot — even if he has a state certificate granting him the right to medical marijuana? The state Court of Appeals says the answer is yes, and we think it made the right call.
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By Staff, Missoulian
An organization based in Bozeman that counts government transparency among its key issues recently struck a blow for freedom of information throughout Montana - namely, the public's right to access detailed information about state employees' pay.
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By Staff, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Some time ago, as the economy was tanking, a focus group paid for by a political consultant must have reacted to the word "jobs" like children on Christmas morning.
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By Staff, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Last year, at his inauguration, Tom Corbett took office with a desire to "unleash a new common prosperity to benefit all Pennsylvanians." Two budget proposals later, it's hard to see how the governor is doing his part.
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By Staff, The Washington Post
Virginia Republicans, always quick to condemn overreaching government intrusions into people's lives, are themselves becoming the High Priests of the Nanny State. In driving a singularly obnoxious abortion measure through the state legislature — one that substitutes their own medical expertise for that of doctors — they are setting new standards for official arrogance and meddling.
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By Staff, Tampa Bay Times
The Florida Legislature has never been serious about renewable energy, or conservation for that matter, and pending bills in the House and Senate would only modestly advance the discussion. However weak, though, the legislation is a start in a tough political and economic climate.
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By Staff, The Dallas Morning News
It's maddening that Texans still have no finalized congressional or state legislative districts that would allow for an April 3 primary.
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By George Talbot, Mobile Register
There will be conflict over charter schools, a rumble over redistricting and a battle royale over the state budget. But perhaps no debate in the new session of the Alabama Legislature involves bigger stakes than the effort to revise the state's immigration law.
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By John Archibald, The Birmingham News
Darn that Mark Twain.
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By George Skelton, Los Angeles Times
If the California Capitol were a classic movie, the governor would be telling his consigliere to arrange a meeting with the heads of the five families.
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By Staff, The New York Times
This nation still has a long way to go to overcome one of the great remaining barriers to full equality and fairness, but a federal appeals court panel brought it a big step closer with a well-grounded ruling on Tuesday striking down a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage in California.
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By Dan Walters, The Sacramento Bee
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has a hard-won reputation for issuing sweeping, precedent-setting and liberal rulings that are often overturned by the more conservative U.S. Supreme Court.
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By Staff, Tampa Bay Times
You know the Florida Senate is in trouble when it has less regard for ethics reform than Congress does.
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By Staff, The Athens Banner-Herald
I never thought I'd see the day when my so-called Democratic state representative, Keith Heard, was conspiring with a Republican — Doug McKillip, no less — to redraw Athens-Clarke County Commission districts (or gerrymander them, depending on who you ask), behind voters' backs.
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By Staff, The Idaho Statesman (Boise)
Idaho legislators can certainly come up with more than their share of home-grown and ill-conceived ideas.
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By Staff, St. Cloud Times
Inspired in part by a Dec. 15 courthouse shooting in northern Minnesota, the Legislature is revisiting the state's right-to-carry laws.
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By David Rosman, The Columbia Missourian
Picture the point of a pin. Now cut that into a billion-billion pieces and you have something so small that it is pure energy. Inside is a vibrating "string," also of pure energy. It is this little entity, a billion-billionth the size of the pinpoint that holds the entire universe together.
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By Staff, Hattiesburg American
Looks like Gov. Phil Bryant will be spared the all-out war that greeted former Gov. Haley Barbour when it came to imposing a state hospital tax to help fund Medicaid.
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By Staff, The Charlotte Observer
Child sexual abuse is one of the few crimes in which the penalty outlives the sentence.
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By Staff, The Bismarck Tribune
North Dakotans should pay attention to Vision 2020, a statewide planning process about to get under way. The past teaches us that the policies and legislation resulting from the plan will affect the state well beyond the 20-year objective. Those speaking now will help shape the state's future.
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By Staff, Lincoln Journal Star
If Sen. Paul Schumacher wanted to stir discussion about the possibility of casino gambling in Nebraska, the bill he introduced this year ought to do just that.
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By Staff, The Star-Ledger (Newark)
A proposed reorganization of New Jersey's higher education system, released last month by a special state task force and supported by Gov. Chris Christie, has set tongues wagging across New Jersey.
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By Jeff Tittel, The Star-Ledger (Newark)
A measure recently signed into law that will delay implementation of the 2008 water quality management planning rules not only opens up 300,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands to sprawl and high-density development, it changes the whole water quality planning process in New Jersey.
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By Staff, The Star-Ledger (Newark)
While the court decision striking down California's ban on gay marriage was narrowly framed, it's still pertinent to the underlying issue in states such as New Jersey. It speaks to the reasons that civil unions are not adequate.
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By Staff, The Star-Ledger (Newark)
It's no secret that women are paid less than men for doing similar work. And any college grad who thought her higher degrees shielded her from the inequities in the salary structure, think again. The more education you have — and the older you are — the wider the pay gap with male counterparts.
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By Bob Martin, The Star-Ledger (Newark)
New bipartisan legislation signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie last month will enhance New Jersey's ability to protect some of the state's most environmentally sensitive lands and better safeguard the state's water quality.
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By Staff, Santa Fe New Mexican
Congratulations to the New Mexico House of Representatives. Understanding the need for urgency, House members unanimously passed legislation to reform the troubled Public Regulation Commission.
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By Staff, Las Vegas Review-Journal
"Caucus" might as well be a four-letter word. Nevada's presidential nomination system is about as popular as traffic jams and the stomach flu, given last weekend's lousy execution by the Republican Party.
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By Jon Ralston, Las Vegas Sun
The Democrats could not have planned the Republican presidential caucus any better if they actually had planned it (no, Ron Paul crazies, they really didn't).
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By Staff, The Columbus Dispatch
Gov. John Kasich's State of the State speech on Tuesday ensured at least one thing: He will go down in history as one of the great cheerleaders for the Buckeye State, perhaps rivaling Gov. James A. Rhodes.
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By Staff, The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City)
It was only fitting that a small earthquake followed an earthquake drill this week.
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By Staff, The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City)
Oklahoma got the kind of positive publicity that money can't buy with the top editorial in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal.
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By Staff, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Unless America is visited by biblical plagues -- and maybe not even then -- Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator and perpetual moral scold, is unlikely to be the next president. But politicians often have a highly inflated opinion of themselves and some voters will always indulge them.
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By Staff, The Patriot-News (Harrisburg)
Pennsylvanians are getting what they voted for in Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed budget: no tax increases and reduced state spending.
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By Staff, The State (Columbia)
Columbia City Council has little alternative but to make changes to control costs in its health-care program for employees and retirees.
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By Staff, The Austin American-Statesman
Battling breast cancer in Central Texas and across the country requires an all-out effort.
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By Staff, The New York Times
The list of outrages coming out of the House is long, but the way the Republicans are trying to hijack the $260 billion transportation bill defies belief. This bill is so uniquely terrible that it might not command a majority when it comes to a floor vote, possibly next week, despite Speaker John Boehner's imprimatur. But betting on rationality with this crew is always a long shot.
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By Mike Littwin, The Denver Post
Let's start with the obvious: It was a terrible night for Mitt Romney, proving once again that, as the kids say, many Republicans are just not that into him.
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By Staff, The Post-Crescent (Appleton)
This is a story about two kinds of accounting. One kind uses "generally accepted accounting principles" and is the kind used by publically traded companies. The other is the kind the state uses and is called "cash accounting."
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By Staff, Charleston Daily Mail
Charleston and Kanawha County have many fine restaurants, some of which are unique to the area. They are an important part of the quality of life in this community.
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By Staff, Charleston Daily Mail
On Jan. 26, the U.S. Department of Transportation began requiring airlines and ticket agents to quote honest fares - prices that include all the taxes and fees travelers will face as well.
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