Defining Moments of the Decade: WTF, 2010s

2013: The Equal Rights Movement

The Defense of Marriage Act, enacted in 1996 under the Clinton Administration, was ruled unconstitutional in a 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 26, 2013, according to Oyez.

“The result is that DOMA denies same-sex couples the rights that come from federal recognition of marriage, which are available to other couples with legal marriages under state law,” Oyez explains. “The Court held that the purpose and effect of DOMA is to impose a ‘disadvantage, a separate status, and so a stigma’ on same-sex couples in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.”

Additionally, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi founded the Black Lives Matter movement in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer, George Zimmerman, the Black Lives Matter website says.

“The project is now a member-led global network of more than 40 chapters.”

Herstory | Black Lives Matter

Snowden Leaks

Edward Snowden released classified information on the federal government surveilling the phone calls and digital communications of United States and foreign citizens in June 2013, Pew Research Center reported.

49 percent of Americans said the information leaked served public interest, but 54 percent held his case should still be pursued by the government.

Snowden was charged with espionage in June before he found temporary asylum in Russia.

Boston Marathon Bombings

At the finish line of the Boston Marathon, bombs went off that took three lives and injured 260 others on April 15, 2013, the Associated Press reported.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty of all 30 counts against him on April 8, 2015.

Colorado Wildfires

An estimated 4,026 wildfires burned over 1.25 million acres in Colorado during June 2013, averaging a record-breaking 309.6 acres burned per fire according to the NOAA.

Two lives, 500 homes, and 200 outbuildings were lost to the wildfires, says a Colorado State University Power Point.

Suppressing the fires cost $9.3 million and insurance losses were over $402.5 million, with an estimated total market loss of $116.3 million.

Google Plus Integration

“My Thoughts on Google+” by Emma Blackery

Source: My Thoughts on Google+ | Emma Blackery

Worlds collided when Google integrated its social network platforms Google+ and YouTube, making it a requirement to connect a Google+ account to your YouTube profile in order to comment on videos in Nov. 2013, YouTube announced.

Although it was boasted as a feature to help filter and sort comments for users, it faced backlash by many creators including British YouTuber Emma Blackery.

Google announced they were shutting down personal Google+ accounts on April 2, 2019. Now the platform is only available for G Suite accounts operated by schools and businesses.

Continue to 2014 –>