Social Issues

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Pastor Joe Fuiten of Cedar Park Assembly of God in Bothell speaks against the pending gay marriage legislation at a noon rally of several hundred, last Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, as legislative hearings regarding the bill are held on the Capitol campus in Olympia, Wash. As lawmakers held their first public hearing on legalizing same-sex marriage, a previously undecided Democratic senator on Monday announced her support for the measure, all but ensuring that Washington will become the seventh state to allow gay and lesbian couples to get married. (AP Photo/The Olympian, Steve Bloom)

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Virginia state Sen. Janet D. Howell, Fairfax Democrat, took a novel approach Wednesday in an unsuccessful attempt to derail abortion-related legislation. (Associated Press)

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Gov. Martin O'Malley said Wednesday in his State of the State address that while Maryland is rebounding well from the recession, tax increases will be needed in this year's budget to pay for new schools and roads. (Associated Press)

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A memo from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to fellow Republicans lays out plans get a 20 percent tax deduction for small businesses passed before April 15. (Associated Press)

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Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) tells the conference committee of senators and representatives that they have a huge responsibility to millions of Americans as they meet Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 in the House Visitors Center to discuss resolving differences in payroll tax relief. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, Montana Democrat (left), and Minority Whip Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, confer during a meeting of the payroll-tax conferees Wednesday. Partisan debate on conditions to add to the federal unemployment benefits program threatens to bog down negotiations on extending the payroll-tax break. (Associated Press)

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American Airlines baggage handlers help passengers check luggage Wednesday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine, Texas. American's corporate leadership is having closed-door meetings with union representatives about the future of employees' jobs and pensions. (Associated Press)

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Sean Penn (left) raises a glass with Haiti's President Michel Martelly (right) and Foreign Minister Laurent Lamothe in Port-au-Prince after Mr. Penn was named ambassador at large because of his humanitarian work since the 2010 earthquake. (Associated Press)

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Bernard Goldstein, professor and dean emeritus of the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh, testifies Feb. 1, 2012, before the Energy and Environment Subcommittee at the Rayburn House Office Building in D.C., about the EPA's approach to ground-water research in Pavillion, Wyo. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley testifies in favor of his gay-marriage bill Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Annapolis. He said the bill would give stability to gay couples without infringing on others' religious convictions. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

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Protesters against a right-to-work bill that could pass the Indiana Senate as early as Wednesday and be signed this week gather outside the Statehouse on Jan. 19. (Associated Press)

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Slavko Rasevic has a blinking light bulb in his home that is powered through an extension cord stretching from his neighbor's house. He is one of the Serb veterans who was forced out of the Bosnian army after age 35, but didn't receive his promised pension checks. Many who fell into poverty are receiving unimaginable help from bitter enemies during the Bosnian War. (Associated Press)

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Ecuadorean backers of President Rafael Correa wave flags with his image at a rally in late October. Mr. Correa has been criticized by human rights groups and others as intolerant of dissent, but he's popular among many Ecuadoreans. (Associated Press)

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Washington Mayor Vincent C. Gray (center) advocates for D.C. statehood in front of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Committee on State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs at the New Hampshire Statehouse. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Washington Mayor Vincent C. Gray (right) advocates for D.C. statehood in front of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Committee on State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs at the New Hampshire Statehouse. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Washington Mayor Vincent C. Gray reviews his notes in a basement cafeteria at the New Hampshire Statehouse while there to advocate for D.C. statehood. The mayor is part of a delegation of D.C. officials giving testimony before the the New Hampshire House of Representatives Committee on State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)