Top 8 News Stories of 2015
From the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March to Gay Marriage, we take a look back at what made headlines this year.
In March, Selma and Montgomery were in the national spotlight as the the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery March drew large crowds to the region. Even President Obama made a special appearance.
“Their faith was questioned, their lives were threatened, their patriotism challenged. But what could be more American than what happened here?” said Pres. Obama.
Later in the year, Montgomery honored another civil rights movement, the 60th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Parks.
It brought in several big names including presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“When the bus driver ordered her to move, she quietly said ‘no,'” said Clinton.
As monumental as 2015 was for civil rights movement anniversaries, it was also a time to say goodbye. Amelia Boynton-Robinson died in August at 104 years old.
A crowd gathered in Selma to pay tribute to the civil rights pioneer.
“We all should internalize her endurance and her admirable spirit,” said one event goer.
Also this year, the state of Alabama saw it’s first same-sex marriage.
Shante Wolfe and Tori Sission were the first couple to get a marriage license at the Montgomery County Probate Office.
“Everybody’s love is classified as legitimate,” said Wolfe of the new ruling.
It took two special sessions but lawmakers and the Governor approved a 1.7 billion dollar General Fund budget.
They found an additional 185 million dollars, mostly funded through money from the Education budget and increasing the cigarette tax.
Senator Arthur Orr said, “we did the best we could with what we had.”
Part of the new budget included deep cuts to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency resulting in the closure of 31 driver’s license offices across the state.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson says this is a political issue that was racially motivated.
“This would be a great moment for white and black citizens to rise up together demanding easy access to driver licenses and easy voting,” said Jackson.
Following the racially-motivated mass shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, a movement swept across the nation to eradicate confederate symbols, especially on government grounds.
In June, Governor Robert Bentley ordered confederate flags from the memorial on the Capitol grounds to be taken down.
Not everyone agreed with the decision.
“If you don’t change people’s hearts, changing flags won’t make a hill of beans difference,” said Mike Williams with the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
In October, a Montgomery circuit judge ruled that electronic bingo in Macon County was legal, because the citizens voted on it.
He dismissed the state’s case against the Victoryland gaming facility and ordered the state to return the machines seized in a 2013 raid.
No word yet on when it will reopen.
“We will not stop until Victoryland is reopened and people have their jobs back,” said Tuskegee Mayor Johnny Ford.
