US Government and Politics: Revision Exchange Thread

Supreme Court have ruled on gay marriage though through Hollingsworth v. Perry (2013) which struck down California's same-sex marriage ban (Proposition 8) but there are still 25 states with laws against gay marriage so I guess you could still argue that it hasn't been properly upheld. Sorry, didn't mean to butt in and waffle endlessly ahah


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Hey for the 15 marker on the Bill of Rights being upheld I made these points:

1.) Roe v. Wade 1973 - I KNOW IT SAID RECENT but 'recent' is a vague term, how recent did they mean? Plus Roe v. Wade still sparks debates to this date - although it protects the right of the woman to abort, it neglects the child's right to life.

2.) United States v. Jones 2012 - Upheld the 4th amendment, basically can't place and switch on a GPS tracking device on a vehicle without a judicial warrant granted of 'probable reason'

This is where my answer went a bit sketchy...

3.) I stated that there has not been any 'real' Supreme Court ruling on gay-marriage on a federal level. Therefore, this suggests that the 1st amendment has not been effectively upheld in recent times as there are still ongoing debates on whether it is constitutional or not. However, it completely depends on how the Supreme Justices interpret the 1st amendment of 'freedom of association' on whether gay-marriage should be upheld. OMG THIS POINT IS SO DODGY...

4.) I said that the 2nd Amendment was upheld 'Right to bear Arms' due to the Columbia v. Heller 2008 case - was ruled that Columbia's gun law involving handguns was unconstitutional.

Anddddd...that's going to lose me vital marks..Should of researched it beforehand -_- instead of mindlessly listening to my politics teacher who really has no clue about A2 (had to self-teach the course). Oh well.

The rest of your answer sounds great- I highly doubt they're going to take off marks for that, honestly! I mean, the only reason I know of these cases is because my A2 teacher has way too much spare time and gave us a booklet with like 25 cases per amendment. Genuinely, I think the examiner will see that you have a good knowledge of the judiciary

Phew, hope so.

Did you do the 15 marker on the relationship between the Senate and the House? I found the term 'relationship' a bit dodgy; it can be interpreted in many ways. Just briefly I listed:

1.) Increased use of filibuster in the Senate leading to Presidents prioritising their legislative agenda to get pass the Senate rather than the House. Such as the recent June 2014 Warren's Bill, DREAM Act, basically 'big' bills. Therefore suggesting the Senate has more dominance over the House in relation to legislative power. <- this is what I don't get about the 'relationship' thing...formal or informal powers?

2.) Senate's ability to approve of Presidential appointments -> gives Senate much more influence over other branches of government in 'relation' to Congress. Though, evaluated by saying last time a judge was vetoed was Robert Borke 1987 and John Tower rejected into the Cabinet on 1989. Honestly, at this point I have no idea if I'm even answering the question.

3.) I tried my luck and put in an informal power for my 3rd point...Basically Senate is more prestigious - only 100 Senators and they represent the whole state. More significance in 'relation' to the House as President's such as Obama were originally in the Senate blah blah.

- I know I missed the major point of increasing partisanship and the polarization of Congress which has greatly affected the relation between the two...Darn it, hope my other 3 points make sense. What did you put down if you did it?