In the news: Charlie Hebdo attacks and gay marriage in Florida

Rory Plewman | Co-Online and Assistant Opinions Editor

Charlie Hebdo Attacks

On Jan. 7 2015, two heavily armed men stormed the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, located in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, killing 12 people. This attack was later followed by two hostage crises, one at a Kosher supermarket in the 12th arrondissement of Paris and another 10 miles outside the city center. The death total, following the hostage crises, stands at 17. The attack was allegedly perpetrated by two brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi who had ties with Al Qaeda in Syria and were being monitored by the French police up until the Spring of 2014. Charlie Hebdo had recently published cartoons depicting Mohammed, which offended many Muslims, and many experts blame these inflammatory cartoons for the recent attack. The French nation, and Charlie Hebdo, refused to be cowed by this attack however, and have staged numerous protest marches. Additionaly Charlie Hebdo is set to print over 1 million copies of their upcoming issue, rather than their standard 60,000. Je suis Charlie!

Gay Marriage in Florida

Same sex-couples rejoiced in Florida this week. Same-sex couples are now allowed to get married thanks to a positive Jan. 6, 2015 ruling. Florida became the 36th state to legalize gay marriage in the United States. Hopefully this recent ruling will spur other states to follow suit.