Five dead, more hurt at Annapolis newspaper – a sad, sad story

  Sad. So terribly sad.

  Five people – several after a life’s work reporting on the daily lives of others – are now the subjects of news reports no one wants to write or read.

  On Thursday, police say a man described as having a long-standing grudge against the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Md., killed five staffers and injured several more in that small community newsroom. He shot through the glass doors of the paper into a place filled with journalists doing what most in that profession in America do: bring their community the news of itself.

Charles C. Haynes: Religious diversity, school calendars and the quest for fairness

  The school board in Howard County, Maryland took the religious-diversity plunge this month by voting unanimously to close schools for the Hindu festival of Diwali, the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha and the Asian celebration of Lunar New Year.

  Students in the suburban Maryland district already get days off for Christmas, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah.

  Welcome to the new religious America – a pluralistic society where Protestants are no longer the majority and people of every conceivable faith and belief are increasingly visible in the public square.

Sally Steenland: The Political and cultural embrace of marriage equality is growing

  Twelve years ago Vermont became the first state to legalize civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. Back then the term “civil union” was unfamiliar to most Americans, and the Vermont law seemed radical to many. Its passage triggered fear campaigns and antigay ballot initiatives that energized conservatives and helped them win elections across the country.

  On Election Day 2012 voters in three states—Maryland, Maine, and Washington—went far beyond civil unions and supported marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. Voters in Minnesota rejected a constitutional amendment that defined marriage as being between one man and one woman. These victories mark a dramatic shift in public support for gay and lesbian equality—all in a little more than a decade since Vermont passed its civil unions bill.