So it is almost April! The sun is shining, the birds are singing and you can smell change in the air. This change is not only in the weather As we put away our furry coats and hats for shorts and Chacos, we put away some of the most controversial issues in the political sphere as well!

In the month of April, the Supreme Court of the United States will be addressing, along with other items, two of the most talked about issues of our generation: gay marriage and the death penalty. Here are the cases:

These four court cases, originating in Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan and Kentucky respectively, address the ban on same sex marriage, a landmark case for the LGBTQ community. The cases will be exploring two main questions:

1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? Which will essentially decide the legality of same sex marriage.

2) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state? Which will affirm the power of the full faith and credit clause. For you who need a brush up on this, it establishes that something legal in another state, like a driver's or marriage license, will be legal in another state.

So will it pass? Will we finally have an end? At least a semi-firm one, to this debate? Most seem to think so. With 5 votes needed to pass the legality, and four known liberals seated on the court, it really comes down to the swing vote of Anthony Kennedy who has spoken sympathetically to the parties being addressed. Even more so, public opinion has a large impacts in cases of this magnitude, and the publicity placed on this issue gives those in favor reason to be optimistic.

GLOSSIP V. GROSS: To be argued Wednesday April 29th

This case, based upon a botched execution in Oklahoma, will decide the future of lethal injection and the death penalty as a whole. For a very long time, the chemical cocktail worked in tandem with the 8th amendment, providing executions free of cruel and unusual punishment. What changed? The chemicals are no longer available in their original concoction, leading to immense suffering in part of the accused. Additionally, many are concerned with the use of midazolam as a sedative for executions. The court will address:

• Is lethal injection without a proper sedative, causing terrible pain, a violation of the 8th amendment?
• Address stays of execution, and alternative drug formulas

Will this mark the end of the death penalty? This one is a little harder to tell. The court ruled very recently in favor of lethal injection, only seven years ago, but have become increasingly wary of it. Even still, if lethal injection is struck down in its current form, it will take a lot more to permanently remove death penalty.

Only time will tell, but we as a culture will be present for some of the most defining moments in political history.