May 2014 Current Events: U.S. News
World News | Business News | Disasters & Science News
Here are the key events in United States news for the month of May 2014.
Supreme Court Rules on Council Meeting Prayers (May 5): In Town of Greece v. Galloway, the Supreme Court rules 5-4 that Christian prayers said at the beginning of council meetings in an upstate New York town do not violate the constitutional prohibition against government establishment of religion.
Two More States Legalize Same-Sex Marriage (May 19): Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Oregon when a U.S. federal district judge rules that the state's 2004 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage violates the Equal Protection clause in the U.S. Constitution. (May 20): A judge strikes down the same-sex marriage ban in Pennsylvania, making the state the 18th to legalize gay marriage. The judge rules that Pennsylvania's 1996 ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The state is the last in the Northeast to legalize same-sex marriage. Before now, the state did not even recognize domestic partnerships or civil unions.
Shooter Kills Six, Wounds 13 Near Santa Barbara (May 23): A gunman, identified as Elliot Rodger, kills six people and wounds 13 others in Isla Vista, California, a small town near Santa Barbara. He stabs three men in his apartment before driving to locations throughout the town where he kills three students. Two students are killed at the Alpha Phi sorority on the University of California, Santa Barbara campus. Another student is killed outside of the IV Deli Mart, a popular spot with students. Before the rampage, Rodger, age 22, posts a video called "Elliot Rodger's Retribution" on his YouTube Channel and writes a 137-page manifesto. In both, he expresses his anger over being rejected by women and his plans for revenge.
Trending
Here are the facts and trivia that people are buzzing about.
