The New Republic

If the Germans covered Albany, they’d have a word for the ambivalence that Andrew Cuomo provokes in those with fond memories of his father. READ MORE >>

On March 6, the Arkansas legislature enacted the toughest abortion law in the nation, banning the procedure after 12 weeks of pregnancy. The accomplishment stood for all of 20 days before North Dakota, with a law Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed on Tuesday, banned abortion at about six weeks. Both laws prohibit abortions once providers can detect a fetal heartbeat, a milestone with no meaning to the federal laws governing abortion. READ MORE >>

Most people who remember John Calhoun from their history books think of him as the fiery senator from South Carolina who defended the antebellum South and once called slavery a “positive good.” But Calhoun also fancied himself a political philosopher. In the early 19th Century, he wrote a treatise laying out his theory that a small group of states should have the right to block legislation—to exercise a “minority veto”—in order to preserve their way of life. READ MORE >>

In the month since the Newtown massacre, there has been an onslaught of state legislation related to guns—both to broaden, and restrict, owners’ rights. With Vice President Joe Biden scheduled to present his gun-violence task force’s recommendations on Tuesday, and New York state reportedly poised to vote on comprehensive gun legislation, here’s a roundup of ten measures being pushed around the country. South Carolina Less than a week after Sandy Hook, a Republican delegate introduced legislation that would allow school employees with concealed-weapons permits to bring their guns to work. Each employee seeking to bring his or her weapon onto school grounds would need approval from the school board and could not have a history of violence. But even in the state’s Republican-controlled legislature, such a bill is far from a sure bet. After the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, a representative tried to pass a similar bill that would have allowed concealed carry on public school grounds, but the bill died on the House floor. New Jersey Members of the New Jersey Legislature introduced 18 bills related to gun control at the start of the 2013 session. One of the more controversial ones: a bill that would require people seeking a gun permit to undergo a psychological evaluation. Under the proposal introduced by Democratic Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez, prospective gun owners would submit to the same kind of evaluation performed on police officers. Her bill would also call for police officers to inspect prospective gun owners’ homes to determine if the weapon would be properly kept away from children and the mentally ill. If it passes, the law would rank among the strictest in the country.IllinoisAfter the Illinois General Assembly failed to act on gun control during its recent lame-duck session, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel took matters into his own hands.  The former White House chief of staff is drafting a Chicago-only gun ordinance that he hopes will push state legislators to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips, according to the Chicago-Sun Times.  It is unclear exactly what his ordinance will entail, but the mayor’s team expects—and is ready—for whatever Emanuel passes to be challenged in court. READ MORE >>