Social Issues

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Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks at the Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner at Bowling Green State University, Saturday, March 3, 2012, in Bowling Green, Ohio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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** FILE ** Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, and his wife, Karen, right, visit volunteers during a stop at his campaign field office, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012, in Grand Rapids, Mich. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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In a video, Eliana Lopez is seen with a bruised right arm in San Francisco (above). Less than two years after moving to the United States, Mrs. Lopez blogged about her hopes and aspirations for her new, simpler life as a wife and mother, far from the bright lights of Latin American TV and movies. Now, Lopez is back in the spotlight in a domestic-violence case involving her husband, embattled San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi (left, with his wife). (San Francisco Attorney's Office via Associated Press)

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The D.C. Council is looking to smooth the process for registering a gun in the District. What's up with that? "I think they should be making it harder because too many innocent people are getting killed, especially children and bystanders. I hate to hear about that." Alex Shelman, 49, Northwest, unemployed veteran

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Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks during a campaign stop at the Lake County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, Friday, March 2, 2012, in Willoghby, Ohio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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Dharun Ravi looks at spectators during his trial at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick, N.J. on March 1, 2012. Ravi is accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, intimate encounter with another man. Days later Clementi committed suicide. (Associated Press/The Star-Ledger)

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Mark Mihelcic of Annapolis, Md., talks to his son Solomon, 5, about the importance of the Civil Marriage Protection Act, which he and Solomon came to the State House to see signed into law on Thursday, March 1, 2012. Mihelcic says he is not gay, but he believes this act protects an important civil liberty. He has a good friend who was born and raised in Maryland but is now living in Arizona, and he says that friend would like to come back to Maryland now so that he and his partner can get married. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley moves out to the crowd to hand out pens after signing the Civil Marriage Protection Act into law at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Md., on Thursday, March 1, 2012. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Supporters of the Civil Marriage Protection Act wave to Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley after he and Speaker of the House Michael Busch, right, signed the act into law at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Md., on Thursday, March 1, 2012. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Women take their picture as they stand on the steps in the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Md., awaiting the signing of the Civil Marriage Protection Act on Thursday, March 1, 2012. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Inam, a 15-year-old drug addict, gang leader and ex-con with police officers on his payroll, sheds a tear when talking about his recent AIDS diagnosis.

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A drug addict holds a needle and syringe after injecting himself with heroin in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Addicted street children are easy prey for militants.

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**FILE** Conservative activist and blogger Andrew Breitbart answers questions during a June 7, 2011, interview at the Associated Press in New York. (Associated Press)

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Democratic Sens. (from left) Charles Schumer of New York, Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Illinois, Patty Murray of Washington state and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada speak March 1, 2012, with reporters on Capitol Hill after they defeated a Republican effort to roll back President Obama's policy on contraception insurance coverage. (Associated Press

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** FILE ** A member of the Muslim community performs a call to prayer during a rally in New York on Feb. 3, 2012, to demand the resignation of police Commissioner Ray Kelly and police department spokesman Paul Browne. Thirty-three civil rights groups from around America complained to the New York attorney general about police documents that showed the New York Police Department recommending increased surveillance of Shiite mosques based solely on their religion. (Associated Press)

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Marine Corps Sgt. Brandon Morgan (right) greets his boyfriend with a passionate kiss at an on-base military-family homecoming. A friend photographed the embrace, which was posted on the "Gay Marine" Facebook page. (Courtesy of Facebook)

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In this Feb. 28, 2012, photo, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., talks to reporters following a Republicans strategy session at the Capitol in Washington. The Senate is debating Republican legislation aimed at taking a bite out of President Barack Obama’s health care law. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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**FILE** Dogs taken off the streets of Khayelitsha township aren't all strays. Some owners aren't aware that they should confine their animals for safety, clinic workers say.

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Dr. Gemma Driscoll (right), a British volunteer veterinarian, examines a dog at the Mdzananda clinic near Cape Town, South Africa. The clinic provides spaying, neutering and other basic care for pets in the impoverished Khayelitsha township. (Associated Press)