Debate

How could it be that even a single U.S. senator - no matter how opposed to gun control - could vote to hold up consideration of a proposal to require background checks for gun purchases? This is an idea not only embraced by something in the order of 91 percent of the American public but 85 percent of National Rifle Association members. Yet, there it was. Thirty-one senators voted against allowing the Senate to debate the background check proposal this morning. That was a victory, of sorts, as some senators had threatened to filibuster the procedural vote.

The bright young people in student government at the Johns Hopkins University no doubt pride themselves on their openness to a diversity of views and their commitment to the free exchange of ideas. That's why the school's Student Government Association's Judiciary Committee was right to overturn the student Senate's decision to deny official recognition to a student-led anti-abortion group. It's on just such contentious issues as abortion that vigorous public discussion and a healthy respect for the views of others are most needed, and we hope that's the lesson Hopkins' student government will ultimately draw from this imbroglio.

The article, "Title IX under fire as colleges cut teams," (April 7) tackled the issue of Title IX proportionality at Towson University, but the perspective of athletic women and female coaches in this debate has been largely missing. One of the solutions of balancing the number of male and female athletes that was proposed in the article was adding women's teams in universities that are not complying with Title IX requirements. If there were barriers that prevent women from active participation in sports, this solution might not lead to the equality that the title was initially created to enhance.

A group of students at the Johns Hopkins University is reviving a campus anti-abortion group that members say will perform "sidewalk counseling" - attempting to discourage pregnant women entering clinics from going through with the procedure. But critics worry that the tactics of Voice for Life will harm the vulnerable women the group says it is trying to help. On Tuesday, a panel of undergraduates will review a decision by the Hopkins Student Government Association to deny recognition to the group.

In a letter sent to the Johns Hopkins Medical community Friday afternoon, Faculty Dean and CEO Dr. Paul Rothman labeled Dr. Ben Carson's comments on gay marriage "hurtful" and "offensive. " Rothman's letter is a turning point in what has been two weeks of a fierce culture-wars debate in the media about Carson. It shows that it wasn't only liberal opponents who were offended, as Carson, Fox news and conservative commentators have consistently contended. Carson's offensive comments were made in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News on March 26 when the partisan host asked Carson for his views on gay marriage.

Supporters and critics of legislation that would grant farmers a 10-year reprieve from new environmental regulations squared off before a House committee Tuesday, with much of the debate focused on provisions in the bill barring any public disclosure of those granted the deferral. Farm group representatives, O'Malley administration officials and others told members of the House Environmental Matters Committee that offering state farmers a shield from new environmental cleanup requirements could boost efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.  Farmers would voluntarily agree to reduce polluted runoff of soil and fertilizer from their farms beyond what they're now required to do, proponents say. Sen. Thomas M. Middleton, the bill's chief sponsor, said many farmers are having to invest in new equipment and facilities now to comply with recently adopted state regulations on how, when and where fertilizer can be spread on the ground.

The House of Delegates gave preliminary approval to its version of Gov. Martin O'Malley's gun control bill Tuesday night after defeating scores of amendments that attempted to weaken it. In a prolonged and heated debate, delegates ultimately preserved provisions to license handgun purchasers, ban the sale of assault-style weapons and limit magazines to 10 bullets. Though the House has modified some provisions of O'Malley's bill, the legislation would still represent the most sweeping change to Maryland gun laws in nearly two decades.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter knows the numbers don't add up. The Orioles were successful in strengthening their depth this offseason, but the glut of outfielders will make it difficult to keep all of them in the organization. “You guys have done the math,” Showalter told reporters Tuesday. Before Tuesday's Grapefruit League game in Fort Myers, the team reassigned outfielder Lew Ford to minor league camp with the hope that he will be in the mix for Triple-A at-bats, but knowing that there are only so many outfield spots in Norfolk.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, in an ambitious effort to direct a party makeover in wake of its defeat last November, has targeted the next presidential cycle's debates and primaries. A new party entity called the Growth and Opportunity Project (GOP - get it?) recommends that the number of primary-period debates be sharply reduced and that the primary schedule start earlier and be curtailed in 2016. The theory is that there was too much of a good thing in 2011-12, and the process lasted so long it severely damaged the chances of electing a Republican president.

Concerns about utility smart meters are frequently dismissed as tinfoil-hat paranoia. But it's not so easy to dismiss Jonathan Libber. The Baltimore man delivers his arguments against the wireless devices in the calm manner of an attorney. He is, in fact, an attorney - retired from the Environmental Protection Agency, a point he notes when he reminds people of the country's spotty record of figuring out environmental hazards before they're widespread. As the force behind Maryland's smart-meter opposition, Libber is spending the early part of retirement in a way he'd never envisioned.