JUNE 12, 1776:  In what would become a model for the federal Bill of Rights, George Mason’s Declaration of Rights is adopted unanimously at the Virginia Constitutional Convention, guaranteeing, among other items, freedom of religion and of the press.

JUNE 12, 1963:  Civil rights activist Medgar Evers assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi.

JUNE 12, 1967:  SCOTUS, in Loving v. Virginia, rules that the Commonwealth’s prohibition against interracial marriage is unconstitutional.

JUNE 13, 1966:  SCOTUS, in Miranda v. Arizona, rules that detained criminal suspects, prior to police questioning, must be informed of their constitutional right to an attorney and against self-incrimination.

JUNE 13, 1971:  The New York Times publishes the Pentagon Papers, revealing for the first time the scope of US lies about our involvement in Vietnam.

JUNE 14, 1946:  Donald Trump born.

JUNE 14, 2017:  Congressman Steve Scalise (R-LA) severely injured in shooting at GOP baseball practice in Alexandria.

JUNE 16, 1963:  Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman to fly in space.

JUNE 17, 1972:  Watergate burglars arrested.

JUNE 18, 1983:  Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman to fly in space.

JUNE 19, 1865:  “Juneteenth”–the abolition of slavery in Texas, which had ignored Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation until the Union Army formally assumed command of the state.

JUNE 25, 1990:  SCOTUS rules that one parent must be notified, but not two, for abortions of underage girls.

JUNE 29, 1776:  Virginia’s Constitution: the first in the Colonies, the first in the world, approved. 

JUNE 29, 1972:  SCOTUS rules that capital punishment violates the eighth amendment against cruel and unusual punishment; ruling reversed in 1976.

JUNE 30, 1971:  Ohio becomes the 38th state to ratify the 26th Amendment, thus allowing 18-year-olds to vote in all elections.

Categories: Issues