2012 Tranniversary: Patrick
In LGBTQ+ news, President Obama becomes the first sitting president to declare his support of same-sex marriage, during an exclusive interview with ABC News, May 9, 2012. This was a change from what he had previously said, which was that he approved civil unions but opposed same-sex marriage. President Obama became the first sitting president to say same-sex couples should be allowed to wed. In the November election, Maine, Maryland and Washington approved same-sex marriage by popular vote. In December, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review two key same-sex marriage cases.In 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, reached the same conclusion as the district court, but on different, narrower grounds. The court ruled that it was unconstitutional for California to grant marriage rights to same-sex couples, only to take them away shortly after. President Obama proclaimed June 2012 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. He called upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people.
The best actress in a leading role award was won by Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”. Jean Dujardin won the Academy Award for best actor for his role in “The Artist”. “The Artist” won the Oscar for best picture as well. Other notable films included “Flight”, “The Hunger Games”, “Django Unchained”, “The Avengers”, and “Men in Black”.
2012’s music hits included Gotye’s, “Somebody That I Used to Know”, “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
Frank Ocean’s, “Thinkin Bout You”, Passion Pit’s, “Take a Walk” and Mumford & Sons, “I Will Wait” were released. Boy bands continued to gather attention with The Wanted’s ,“Glad you Came” and One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful”.
The biggest story to rock the sporting world was Lance Armstrong being banned from cycling for life, and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. Bradley Wiggins, who set numerous British cycling records, won the 2012 Tour de France. Roger Federer won his 7th Wimbledon title and boxer Floyd Mayweather was the highest paid athlete (85 million dollars in earnings). The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl. The Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA title and the San Francisco Giants won their 7th world series.
In 2012 news, President Obama was elected for a second term defeating Republican Mitt Romney. Superstorm/hurricane Sandy hit the east coast of the US, causing extensive damage to the New Jersey coast and New York. The NYC Stock Exchange was closed for two days and the New York City Marathon was cancelled. Superstorm Sandy pummeled the east coast; more than 130 people were killed and thousands were left homeless. George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager. Whitney Houston, one of the most celebrated singers of the 80s and 90s died at age 48. Dick Clark, who was best known for the dance show “American Bandstand” passed away at age 82.
Facebook Inc’s IPO did not go as planned due to n overly optimistic valuation and trading glitches. The stock fell to less than half of its IPO value in three months, and the offering became the subject of numerous lawsuits. Penn State. Jerry Sandusky, 68, Penn State University's former defensive coordinator, was convicted of 45 counts of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years. He was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison. The scandal sparked a national debate over child sex abuse, embarrassed the university and implicated a number of its top officials including legendary football head coach, the late Joe Paterno. There were several mass shootings, in 2012, including the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Rodney King, an African American who was a victim of police brutality (1991) by the LA Police, an incident that precipated protests throughout the country, passed away in 2012. Astronaut Neil Armstrong who was the first person to walk on the moon died at the age of 82.
Militants stormed the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, killing U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.The attack - the first to kill a U.S. ambassador in the line of duty since 1979 - sparked criticism of the Obama administration. An official inquiry found widespread failures in both security planning and internal management.