captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: the supreme court ruled it's unconstitutional to bar children from buying violent video games. good evening. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, marcia coyle walks us through the video game ruling and a decision on a campaign finance law in arizona. >> ifill: then, hari sreenivasan has the latest on the conviction of ousted illinois governor rod blagojevich for trying to trade or sell the senate seat once held by president obama. >> woodruff: we update the growing field of republican presidential candidates as minnesota congresswoman michele

bachmann kicks off her campaign. >> ifill: special correspondent fred de sam lazaro has a good news story about a west african nation that's enjoyed two decades of thriving democracy. >> reporter: in a region that's seen bloody political violence ghana has enjoyed stability, economic growth and freedom. >> woodruff: jeffrey brown looks at what's next for gay marriage, three days after new york state made it legal. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> oil companies have changed my country. >> oil companies can make a difference. >> we have the chance to build the economy. >> create jobs, keep people healthy, and improve schools. >> ...and our communities. >> in angola chevron helps train engineers, teachers and farmers, launch child's programs. it's not just good business. >> i'm hopeful about my country's future. >> it's my country's future.

>> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: the supreme court ended its term today with a pair of major decisions that turned on the constitutional right to free speech. by 7-2, they agreed to throw out a california statute that banned the sale and rental of violent video games to minors. supporters of the law argued that the games allow children to simulate grotesque acts of

violence. but the video game industry said the games should be treated like any other form of entertainment. the court also struck down a provision of arizona's campaign finance system that provides extra money to publicly funded candidates when they face well- funded rivals. joining us now to discuss the court's final rulings of the session is newshour regular marcia coyle of the "national law journal." marcia, starting with that california statute that was tossed out, give us the genesis of this. >> okay. california passed a law 2005 that prohibited the sale or rental violent video games to anyone under the age of 18. and a violent video game they defined was one that gave the player the option of killing, maiming, dismembering or sexually assaulting a human image. it also would lack any serious literacy, artistic, political or scientific value, and would appeal to a minor's morbid or

deviant interests. >> ifill: how do all of those-- that sounds pretty awful. how does killing, maiming, dismembering and sexual assault fit under the rubric of free speech protection. >> justice scalia wrote the opinion for a 7-2 majority today. he said basically california was asking the court to create a new category of unprotecteded speech. the court has found unprotected speech in only a handful of cases, things like obscenity, fighting words. he said that there was no long history or tradition in this country of prescribing minors' access to violent content. he gave as an example grim's fairy tales which he said were grim indeed. he said, for example, cinderella's three evil step sisters had their eyes pluckd out by doves, hansal and gretel got rid of their captor by baking her in an oven. >> ifill: the readers of those

books didn't pick up a virtual gun and pluck out the eyes of cinderella's sisters. what's in these games that we're talking about, anybody with a teenager at home is probably familiar with them. >> what's exactly in the games? >> ifill: shooting? what? >> there's everything. shooting, killing, rape. there's urinating on women or children. the next step for justice scalia though was to say, okay, california, you have this law. in order to pass scrutiny under the first amount, there has to be a compelling reason for the law. and the law also has to be narrowly drawn to achieve that interest. california argued that there were studies showing that you could link the playing of these violent video games to increased aggression in minors. justice scalia said the studies weren't sufficient, that they were conflicting. they were unconclusive. so there was the compelling interest wasn't there. he also said it wasn't narrowly drawn.

for example, it was under inclusive. it only singled out violent video games not violent books, not violent movies. it was overinclusive. there are actually minors whose parents don't care if their children have these violent video games but they were swept in to the prohibition as well. >> ifill: 7-2. so there were two dissents. who dissented and request? >> the real dissent by justice thomas and justice breyer. justice thomas has long believed that the drafters of the first amendment never envisioned minors having first amendment rights or access to speech except through parents or guard yachbs. that ended it for him. this law was constitutional. justice breyer felt that there was sufficient evidence here that the should defer to the legislature's judgment in california, that this law should be upheld. he asked, for example, does it make sense under the court's precedents that you can

prohibit the sale of a magazine showing nude women to a 13-year-old boy and yet you're going to protect the sale of a video game in which that same 13-year-old acting virtually can bind, gag and kill a woman. >> ifill: let's talk for a moment about the other case because this was in arizona. it was a case where arizona state government tried to level the playing field when it came to campaign financing. >> arizona had what is known as a matching fund public financing system. it works this way. if you opt into the public financing system, the state would give you a set amount of money at the beginning of either the general primary election. if you're opponent... if your opponent who is privately financed exceeded that grant to you, you would qualify for its matching funds. nearly $1 per $1 match. also if independent

expenditure groups spent in favor of your opponent, your privately financed opponent or just ran commercials or ads against you, there also was the matching funds. the matching funds were capped at a certain amount. the privately financed candidate could continue to raise money however. >> ifill: so it tried to even the playing field but it wasn't necessarily the final result. that wasn't the problem the court had. >> no. in fact, we'll get to this but arizona denied that it was trying to level the playing field here. chief justice roberts wrote for a 5-4 majority. he said that this system, this matching funds in particular, this matching fund trigger put a substantial burden on the speech of the privately funded candidate and independent expenditure groups. they knew that if they used speech, spoke, spent above a certain amount of money their opponent would get matching funds. this, he said, was prohibited

under the first amendment. he rejected arizona's argument that this law was justified as arizona's voters' attempts to combat corruption. he said this was an attempt to level the playing field. the court had said many times that's forbidden under the first amendment. >> ifill: why did they say this was not leveling the playing field? what was arizona's push back on that? >> arizona said that the law was passed back in 1998 by a voter referendum right after a major scandal in arizona in which state lawmakers were found to have taken bribes in exchange for their votes on certain issues. so it was intended to combat corruption. >> ifill: justice read part of her dissent from the bench. it was sharp. >> it was actually justice kagan. you're right. she did read part of it from the bench which is usually a signal that the dissenters feel very strojly about this.

she said this matching funds system was a subsidy of speech not a restriction on anyone's speech. it actually resulted in more speech, not less speech. that's why-- and that is what the first amendment encourages especially when it comes to political speech, more speech. >> ifill: she said this really was a topsy-turvy interpretation. >> of the first amendment. >> ifill: that was justice kagan thanks for catching me on that as always and thank you again. >> my pleasure. >> woodruff: still to come on the newshour, the guilty verdicts for former illinois governor blagojevich; the kickoff of michele bachmann's campaign; economic growth in ghana; and the ripple effect after new york approved gay marriage. but first, the other news of the day. here's kwame holman. >> holman: a federal judge in atlanta has blocked parts of georgia's crackdown on illegal immigration from taking effect. a new state law was to take effect on july first. but the judge today issued a stay against enforcing penalties

on those who harbor the undocumented. the judge also set aside a provision authorizing police to check immigration status until a legal challenge is resolved. wall street rallied today on hopes that french banks and others will help ease the debt crisis in greece. the dow jones industrial average gained nearly 109 points to close at 12,043. the nasdaq rose 35 points to close at 2688. some 200 opposition figures and intellectuals met in damascus syria today. they called for an end to president bashar assad's rule and a peaceful transition to democracy. it was the first such gathering since antigovernment unrest began in march. but many opponents of the regime stayed away. they said the meeting was a ruse to give the impression the regime tolerates dissent. the international criminal court today ordered the arrest of libyan leader moammar qaddafi on charges of crimes against humanity. we have a report from martin geissler of independent television news. >> reporter: just minutes

before the international criminal court served notice on colonel qaddafi, nato forces sent him a message of their own. the pressure on the libyan leader is unremitting. legally and militarily. 1500 miles from the hague here in tripoli the nato air campaign continues. we heard two loud strikes here today. now we've been brought to qaddafi's compound in the center of the city. we've been shown this. the government claims it's the target of t attacks. it is we were told qaddafi's win bag owe and looked like a precision strike despite nato denial they're targeting him directly. qaddafi's options are increasingly limited. the international criminal court warrant makes it extremely difficult for him to leave libya. it is bunkered in. his government claimed to have armed more than a million civilians in the west of the country. near his hometown, we were shown women being trained to use machine guns.

and rocket-propelled grenades. and then tripoli this teen-aged girl told me she was given weapons training at school. why are you learning to fire a gun? >> to save my country. >> reporter: but you're a chil. >> no. and this time there's nobody-- child or woman or man or... they're all like one. they have to take guns. >> reporter: while there's no shortage of propaganda here there's also plenty of genuine support for qaddafi. international arrest warrants are little more than a distraction for him. the fight for libya is far more immediate than that. >> holman: a war crimes trial opened in cambodia today for the four top surviving members of the khmer rouge regime from the 1970s. the defendants now are in their late 70s or early 80s. they're accused of leading a brutal drive for a communist utopia that led to the so-called "killing fields" and the deaths

of more than a million cambodians. the overlord of that campaign, pol pot, died in 1998. a fast-growing wildfire forced a mandatory evacuation today of los alamos new mexico. the fire began on sunday, pushed by 60-mile-an-hour winds. heavy smoke could be seen blanketing the city today. flames were near the los alamos nuclear weapons lab, but officials said all radioactive materials were protected. the city of minot, north dakota, has begun assessing its losses, after its worst flood ever. some 4,000 homes were damaged or destroyed as the souris river crested sunday, breaking a record from 1881. federal officials said fewer than 400 homes were covered by flood insurance.f and in nebraska today, the flooded missouri river seeped into the turbine building at a nuclear plant near omaha. officials said pumps were working, and the site was safe. one of major league baseball's marquee franchises, the los

angeles dodgers, have filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. the move, by owner frank mccourt, comes after major league baseball rejected a 17- year $3 billion deal with the fox network that mccourt says would have allowed his team to meet its financial obligations. in april, major league baseball assumed control of the franchise amid concerns over the team's finances. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to gwen. >> ifill: former illinois governor rod blagojevich was found guilty today on 17 charges of corruption, including an effort to barter president obama's old senate seat. hari sreenisvasan has that. >> reporter: lot blagojevich seemed upbeat leaving his sub urban chicago home. >> look, it's in god's hands. you know, my hands are shaky. my knees are weak. i can't seem to stand on my own two feet. i'm praying. i certainly hope for the best. >> reporter: but those hopes were dashed by a federal jury in its 10th day of deliberations. they convicted the ousted

governor of trying in effect to sell the vacant illinois senate seat left by president obama. he was also convicted of trying to extort executives for donations to his own campaign. the jurors spoke shortly after the verdict but did not give their names. >> we know there's a lot of bargaining that goes on behind the scenes. we do that in our everyday lives and business and everything. but i think in this instance when it is someone representing the people, it crosses the line. and i think we sent a pretty clear message on that. >> reporter: in all, blagojevich was found guilty on 17 of 20 counts. he was acquitted on one count, and the jury failed to reach decisions on the remaining two. >> we are obviously very disappointed in the outcome. i frankly am stunned. there's not much left to say other than we want to get home to our little girls and talk to them and explain things to them. and then try to sort things out. >> governor, can we talk to

you. >> reporter: the two-term democratic governor was arrested in december 2008 shortly after mr. obama was elected president. blagojevich was removed from office in january, 2009. this trial was his second on the charges. the first jury dead locked on 23 counts and convicted him on a single count of lying to the f.b.i. he faces up to five years in prison on that charge. the defense called no witnesses at that trial but this time blagojevich himself took the stand for seven days. he now faces a sentencing hearing in august. he faces a maximum of 300 years in prison. joining joining us now from chicago to discuss today's verdict is phil ponce, host of wttw's "chicago tonight." thanks for being with us. >> my pleasure. >> why did this trial get such little coverage compareded to the last one. in chicago it's a big story. it seems that the rest of the country let blagojevich slide by. >> that's a good question. i'd say probably because, number one, this trial was

streamlined. there were some of the so-called sexy allegations against rod blagojevich were not raised this time. and the government's attempt to streamline the case. for example a lot was made last year about how much the hundreds of thousands of dollars literally that rod blagojevich had spent on his wardrobe. this year the government went straight for the jugular. they streamlined things it was a much shorter case. the other thing is i think there was feeling here in chicago that there was a little bit of rod blagojevich fatigue. and... but i would say that even so when the jury announced its verdict of 17 guilty counts of the 20 it got everyone's attention. >> u.s. attorney patrick fitzgerald said that the conduct would have made lincoln roll over in his grave. we should remind folks that he was found guilty of shaking down a children's hospital as well as attempting to fill his own covers, right? >> in the children's hospital case the allegation and what the jury found him guilty of was attempting to get a

$25,000 campaign donation from the head of the children's hospital in exchange for higher reimbursement rates, state reimbursement rates for kids who, for doctors who treat kids. so that one definitely got the jury's attention. >> he had been on almost a relentless public relations campaign. he put his wife on reality tv show. he appeared on one himself. today he maybe indicated that he might change strategies and speak a little less. all that speaking didn't seem to sway the jury. >>al with, it may have helped him the first time around when, you know, as you know all it takes a one juror to hold out. in fact that is what happened in the first trial. so his charm offensive last year paid off. this year it did not. it's interesting because last year it was a jury of six men and jix women. this year it was 11 women and one man. and again the government streamlined the case so it was shorter. it was only... half as long as

the first trial. and the jury came to a different conclusion. >> what about the defense? initially they had planned on calling jesse jackson jr., perhaps valerie jared, other senior members of the administration rahmy man you'll at the time to try to speak up for him. that dlint p didn't happen. >> actually jesse jackson jr. and rahm emanuel did testify very briefly. both of them testified. it was, you know, there was all this anticipation when now mayory man you'll came on the stand. later he said it took him longer to get to the courthouse than it did for him to actually testify. >> the jury said today that they wanted to believe him but that the evidence really just kind of pointed in the opposite direction. those phone calls, the f.b.i. wire taps seemed to be pretty damning. >> well, the game-changer this time in the minds of many was that rod blagojevich actually took the stand. there was interesting reaction from the giraffe ward. afterwards, one juror said

that the fact that he was, quote, personable did make it a little harder but ultimately they were able to just focus on the evidence. another juror said she found the governor to be very manipulative and that his testimony really was not very effective with her. but ultimately he did put himself on the stand. he promised in the first trial that he would. he did not. this time he did. it did not serve him very well. >> reporter: in the first trial he was quite adamant and arrogant and really kind of making this almost a one-on-one situation against patrick fitzgerald saying, you know, see me in court. i dare you. you guys are all crooks and liars. >> i will say that afterwards u.s. attorney patrick fitzgerald talked to reporters. he said he took no personal satisfaction in bringing this case against the governor. but the intent was to send a message to illinois politicians that if they are going to engage in corruption that the government will come after them. now as you know, there is

another sitting governor who is a former governor who is now sitting in a federal prison. this makes two governors in a row who have been convicted of corruption. the state's culture of corruption, if it changes, will evidently change slowly. >> reporter: four out of the last eight governors have been convicted of some crime or another. it seems that the juries are able to hand down these indictments, but the culture doesn't change. what are the folks on the streets saying? >> well, i don't know about what the folks on the street are saying, but patrick fitzgerald said that-- and the jurors themselves said-- "we want to send a message that political horse trading is one thing. but when one attempts to personally benefit from that horse trading, that's when one crosses the line." patrick fitzgerald was very candid in saying that the culture in this state, as you point out, here to forehas been one that sees corruption on an all too regular basis.

he hopes that maybe this time a politician, he or she will know that if they try to squeeze money out of somebody in exchange for a political deal or an appointment with the government, we'll be watching. in the case of the f.b.i. potentially listening. >> reporter: phil ponce thank you so much for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> woodruff: now, 2012 presidential politics. minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann formally kicked off her campaign today for the republican nomination, giving the field a jolt of tea party energy. to make her announcement bachmann chose the city where she was born, waterloo. in the state with the nation's first presidential contest. iowa. >> my name is michele bachmann. i stand here in the midst of

many friends and many family members to announce formally my candidacy for president of the united states. ( cheers and applause ) >> woodruff: at 55, the third- term congresswoman from next door minnesota has made an outspoken name for herself. she's aggressively opposed president obama over health care reform and economic policy. as she did again today. >> in february, 2009, president obama was very confident that his economic policies would turn the country around within a year. he said-- and i quote-- a year from now, i think people are going to see that we're starting to make some progress. if i don't have this done in three years, then there's going to be a one-term proposition. well, mr. president, your policies haven't worked. spending our way out of the recession hasn't worked. and so, mr. president, we take

you at your word. od>> woruff: the mother of five lost her first try for public office, a school board race 12 years ago. but she won a state senate seat and went on to the u.s. house where she became a fiery voice for the burgeoning tea party movement. >> the liberals and to be clear-- i am not one of those-- want you to believe that the tea party movement is just a right wing fringof the republican party. but i am here to tell you nothing could be further from the truth. >> woodruff: bachmann early appearances on the national stage included some misstatements including this one in new hampshire last march on the start of the american revolution. >> you're the state where the shot was heard round the world at lexington and concorde. >> woodruff: in fact it was massachusetts. bachmann later acknowledged her mistake. but with her candidacy comes increased scrutiny. she's already been parodyed on

nbc's saturday night live. >> believe it or not my make-up was done by a child. >> woodruff: she also faced this question from host chris wallace on fox news sunday yesterday. >> are you a flake? >> well i think that would be insulting to say something like that because i'm a serious person. >> reporter: wallace later issued an apology for asking the question which bachmann declined to accept. in fact bachmann gained serious new attention this month when her performance as a first major g.o.p. debate was praised as show stealing. >> president obama is a one-term president. >> woodruff: and according to a new poll of iowa republicans published in the des moines register, she enters the contest at the head of the g.o.p. field. in a virtual tie with frontrunner mitt romney. bachmann kicks off her campaign with visits this week to the key early primary states of new hampshire and

south carolina. for more on the launch of bachmann's campaign we're joined by for more on the launch of bachmann's campaign we are joined by kathie obradovich, political columnist for the "des moines register." >> thank you, gwen. >> woodruff: it's actually judy, but that's all right. >> i'm sorry, judy. >> woodruff: that's all right. we all work together here. tell me first why is bachmann doing so well with iowa voters? i notice not only did she tie for first among people when asked who is your first choice. if you say who is your first or second choice she came in away head of everybody else. >> she has a good fit for the conservative wing of the iowa caucus goers. she can tick off a lot of the boxes they're looking for tea party being done and social conservative. a standard bearer on social issues. constitutional conservative. those kinds of things are playing very well with the very right wing of the iowa

republican caucus going public. and those folks, i think, are also waiting to see if she can check off the last box which is "can beat barack obama." i think she has to show that she has really staying power to get beyond iowa and the caucuses on to the national stage. >> woodruff: what are they seeing of her so far because as we pointed out she got off to a little bit of a rocky footing when she hit the national stage. she made a few misstatements. i gather there were a few things she said today that were tagged by the media. does it feel like she's getting her footing there in iowa? >> well, i think so. i mean she's really just getting started. she has made some good in-roads into key constituencies in iowa. one of them being a group that really helped launch mike huckabee's canned sdaes four years ago. that was the home schooling network here. she home schooled some of her kids and she really impressed

them at one of their big conferences earlier in the year. i have to tell you these folks that really like her, they're picking up a lot of impressions from her from more of the conservative media. they're not so much worried about little slips of the tongue and gaffes that mainstream media is going to pounce on. from either michele bachmann or sarah palin or some of their other favorites. >> woodruff: there's been some, i guess, some note today that she may be moderating her rhetoric. she's backing away from statements she made earlier that president obama didn't love america as much as she did. for example,. is is she moderating her positions as well? >> you know, she made some overtures to democrats while she was in waterloo today. in fact last night at a rally she mentioned the fact that she and her family were all democrats. she called them fair and reasonable people. and i think that especially in

waterloo which is a very strong democratic stronghold, you know, she was reaching out to the hometown crowd there. and also making the point that tea party... she thinks the tea party people encompass far more than just republicans. she's talking about disaffected democrats, independents. she's trying to build a bigger coalition. judy, i don't see really any place where she's taken... rolled back on any of the positions she's taken from, you know, really slashing the budget to any of the social issues that she's championed. i just don't really see that coming out in her position. >> woodruff: is there a sense that this is a strategy she's going to stick with to try to reach beyond the tea party base? >> she's going to have to reach beyond the tea party base in order to really establish enough of a coalition to put together the nomination. even though here in iowa you've got about 60% of the people who say that they have at least some support for the tea party among republican caucus goers, only 17% said

they were really strongly supportive of the tea party. the tea party only takes you so far. you really do have to reach out to a broader coalition. eventually if you want to go beyond the nomination even, you have to be able to bring along a lot of independents. >> woodruff: what about the rest of the republican field at this point, kathy? let's take this moment to look at the poll that showed she was, michele bachmann was right up there at the top with mitt romney. 23, 22%. on the other hand, the governor, former governor in the next door state of minnesota tim pawlenty was way back in the pack. what does that say about his campaign after all the time he spent in iowa? >> this is a much worse poll for tim pawlenty than it is for mitt romney. as you say he has spent a lot of time in iowa. he has put together really an a-list campaign. he has been doing all of the things that you really need to do to compete in iowa caucuses. yet his numbers were at 6%. he was right there with newt gingrich and with ron paul.

at a time when newt gingrich's campaign was imploding and ron paul is still seen as maybe more fringe libertarian candidate. what he's doing in iowa is not happening at least at this point. now i think that there may be an opportunity for tim pawlenty still. he may be sort of the tore advertise to michele bachmann's hare. she's moving up fast. mitt romney has put together a core, loyal core of support. these folks are supporting him even though he has not been here in iowa. he's only been here once this cycle. he's got a group of people that are loyal. if he decides to come back and campaign, he has an opportunity to build on that. >> woodruff: well, it is early but we've got lots of questions for how these candidates are doing early on. kathy obradovich, thanks very much. >> all right. thank you.

>> ifill: next, an african country combines democratic reforms with the bounty of its land. special correpondent fred de sam lazaro reports from ghana, on efforts to give ordinary citizens a bigger say in their economic future. . >> this is the unique.... >> reporter: radio reaches nearly all of ghana's 23 million people and lively give-and-take is a breakfast staple. tempers flare and guests from different political factions jumped all over each other's words. once the show was over all was quickly forgiven. it's a scene that sharply contrasts with the civil wars and bloodshed in many of ghana's west african neighbors. in a continent where long- running dictatorships are the norm, ghana has enjoyed two decades of thriving democracy. two incumbent leaders have lost in general elections.

in 2008 the margin was less than 1% yet on both occasions the sitting president stepped aside and power was transferred peacefully. ghana was the first african colony to gain independence back in 1957 from britain. it had its share of autocrats and military coups until the early '90s when long-ruling strong man jerry rawlins seen here with president clinton stepped aside and allowed democratic elections. that markd a turning point, says political scientist emmanuel jimbodi. >> the first time we've had both economic growth and political ability and freedom. in many ways the economy has been improving and improving since the early '90s. and it seems to have begun to gallop a bit for the past six years or so. >> reporter: ghana is a major

exporter of cocoa beans and also gold and diamonds but in june of 2007.... >> struck gold. >> reporter: a u.s.-based drilling company discovered major oil reserves in 2007 and ghana's first oil revenues began to flow last december. the hope is that ghana can avoid the fate of other african oil nations which have squandered their wealth through mismanagement and corruption leaving their populations poorer than ever. >> ghana has been very fortunate to have discovered oil after democracy and not before. because that democracy is going to influence how that, you know, how ghana manages its oil wells. >> reporter: patrick is one of a growing number of overseas ghanaians who returned. he went to college in the u.s. and then worked at microsoft. he came back to start a university called "beginning." ghana's fledgling democracy

needs leaders, he says. >> we've borrowed the liberal arts, the model of the liberal arts and sciences as the way to do that. it teaches broad perspectives and a deep ethos, a deep concern for ethics and a specialization. >> reporter: the college has 450 students and will soon triple that number in a new campus just outside the capital where funds from the world bank and other investors. students and alumni we talked to echo the school's values. business major hopes they will make a difference. >> because you're training ethical leaders who are going to take over in terms of sharing the national pie among everybody so that the majority of the nationals, the nationals are eating the crumbs from the table.

then we're sharing equally. >> reporter: right now ghanaians are hardly sharing equally. there's a wide gap between urban and rural areas. the vast majority of ghanaians and much of this country's prove efforty reside in the rural hinterland. most experts say that the only way to attract... has nothing to do with gold, diamonds or even oil but rather to create more economic activity and more jobs in rural communities like these. one example is nuts which are exported to europe and america to be processed in shea butter or cream. in the northern region, rit a co-owns one of the growing number of small local processors. they are supported by aid groups, companies that use social awareness in their marketing and also a u.s. aid project set off by congress to

boost trade with africa. >> when you process it into butter, the product you can get will support your children by paying their school fees. >> reporter: there's more profit if you process the nuts. >> yes. >> reporter: hundreds of women today sort and clean the shea nuts. once they're crushed, they spend hours as human mix masters needing the viscous dough to release the prized shea butter. a few businesses have also started using mechanized plants to increase production, but the shift to local processing has a long way to go. vast majority of shea nuts are still exported. local processing is even more difficult in what is ghana's biggest export: cocoa beans. very little chocolate is made anywhere in africa because of the lack of refrigeration and milk so the emphasis here is instead on getting a better price.

this person and his neighbors belong to ghana's largest cooperative. it was set up 20 years ago with the help of a british trade group. and an american group and others have helped find buyers who pledge to pay fair trade prices. the co-op even owns part of a fair trade chocolate line called divine sold mostly in europe and online in the u.s. members help each other with chores, cutting open cocoa fronds for bending and drying the beans inside them. nationwide the co-op has 64,000 members and is itself a democracy. members elect their national leaders as well as local reporters, usually a trusted elder. in this group it's this man. >> this year we were able to buy 1497 bags. >> reporter: meticulous

accounts are disclosed at group meetings. the co-op's profits have paid for community wells, credit unions and schools. it's hardly made anyone rich. few people here have even tasted chockate la, for example. 54 kbrold... 54-year-old tano is an exception. >> how old were you when you first tasted chocolate. >> 48 years old. >> reporter: but he's much more interest in how much fair trade chocolate is consumed in europe and america. >> we need more money. >> reporter: for now fair trade does not have a fair share of the chocolate market. it accounts for just 5% ever of ghana's cocoa farmers. still it has improved life for this person and the six children who are all getting an education. two are in college. >> this is the best time for a young person in ghana. >> reporter: the optimism is echoed back in the capital. especially among young urbanites like the business major.

>> the oilre is the price of the... all the national companies coming in looking for opportunities. >> reporter: from big oil to small shea nuts and cocoa beans, ghana's challenge will be to make the benefits flow more evenly especially to its rural areas. at the same time keep its commitment to democracy and free media. >> the ghana national petroleum corporation has for the second time lifted a total of 994,691 barrels of oil. >> reporter: for now oil revenues are meticulously reported. how all the new money will be monitored wilbe central to the political debate that will only heat up as elections approach next year. >> ifill: fred's reporting is >> ifill: fred's reporting is a partnership with the under-told stories project at saint mary's university in minnesota.

>> woodruff: finally tonight, jeffrey brown looks at what's ahead in the battle over same- sex marriage after supporters won a major victory in new york state this weekend. >> reporter: there were flags, floats and an extra air of celebration sunday at new york city's annual gay pride parade. as many as 6,000 marchers and many thousands more spectators turned out to cheer the coming of same-sex marriage in new york state. >> we've been together for eight-and-a-half years. all of my siblings are married. there's no reason why our relationship shouldn't have the same rights and benefits and responsibilities that my siblings do. >> yes 33 and no 29. >> brown: the state senate gave the bill final approvalfrie friday night after weeks of protest and tense negotiations at the state capital. the statute takes effect in

late july when new york will become the largest state to allow same sex marriage, joining five others and the district of columbia. at yesterday's parade, new york governor andrew cuomo, who played a powerful public and behind-the-scenes role in pushing the new law, said it has broader significance. >> new york for many many years has served as the progressive beacon for this country. and passing marriage equality i think advances the entire discussion. >> reporter: and at pride parades from chicago to san francisco, supporters reflected that optimism. >> keep going. more states. >> i think it's sort of a turning point for us. perhaps we'll get full equality and full rights soon. >> reporter: but that sense of hope comes in the face of continuing stiff opposition. 29 states have constitutional bans on same-sex marriage. and 12 others have laws against it. and when put on state ballots, voters have consistently

backed gay marriage bansr, including in california where in 2008 voters approved proposition 8 which defined marriage as only between a man and a woman. a federal judge's ruling striking down that proposition remains on appeal. one republican governor chris christie of new jersey said sunday he'd support so-called civil unions for gay partners but nothing more. >> i am not a fan of same-sex marriage. it's not something that i support. i believe marriage should be between one man and one woman. that's my view. that will be the view of our state because i wouldn't sign a bill like one that was in new york. >> reporter: at the national level, president obama has said his position is evolving. but not yet to the point of fully endorsing gay marriage. gay and lesbian supporters confronted him at a fund-raiser in manhattan last thursday. >> i heard you guys. if you keep up the fight and if you will devote your time and your energies to this

campaign one more time, i promise you we will write another chapter in that story. we are going to leave a new generation with a brighter future and a more hopeful future. i'll be standing there right there with you. >> brown: for now the obama justice department has said it will no longer defend a federal law that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. for more on new york and beyond we're joined by daniel o'donnell, a democratic member of the new york state assembly. and maggie gallagher, co-founder and chair of the national organization for marriage, a group that lobbies around the country to keep marriage between a man and a woman. mr. o'donnell starting with you, two years ago this bill was rejected by a democrat-led majority senate. this time it passed through a republican-majority senate. what changed?

>> many things have changed in the last two years. when i first got this bill passed in 2007, the polling on this subject was in the low 40s. the polling these days in new york is close to 60% of new yorkers support my right to equality. so we had a governor who was fully supportive and was willing to commit his political good will. we had money behind it. and we had coordination of all the groups that are in favor, worked very closely together. so all those things allowed the decision to be made by the leadership of the senate to put the bill on the floor. i have known for at least a month that the bill was put on the floor that we had enough votes to pass my equality. >> brown: staying with you for a moment. some of that money you referred to reportedly came from republican donors. how important was that in getting four republicans to cross over and join the democrats? >> extraordinarily important that we reach across the

aisle. to make people understand that this is is not one party's issue. i've always had republican supporters in the assembly. janet dupre and teresa stayward have been fabulous. they've always gotten re-elected without any difficulty. it was important to show that if in fact any senator was willing to stand up and say what's right is is right and eke... equal is equal that the community would support them in that decision. >> brown: maggie gallagher how do you determine what happened in new york. >> republicans who campaigned one way decided to vote another which is something that never goes over well with voters. in order to help andrew cuomo in his eventually bid to run for president. it's one thing to sell out your principles in order to get elected. that's wrong. but to sell out your principles in order to get the other guy elected is is just plain dumb. i do think that the republican party in new york is going to pay a big price for that. because, you know, the polling we did and the polling is

becoming very sensitive to how you ask the questions. when we asked new yorkers do you want to define marriage as one man and one woman the answer was 57% still support that. i think that's why our call to refer this to the people of new york went unheeded and the politicians in albany, you know, quickly pushed it through. >> brown: you don't see a shift in public opinion over the last few years at all? >> we're not seeing it on the ground. we are seeing some change in polling. when you look at it, it depends on how the question is asked and what context it's in. i think it's true and i don't have a problem with this. people are very sensitive. they don't want to express disrespect to gay people. but deep down the majority of americans believe marriage is different. marriage is the union of husband and wife for a reason. i know gay marriage advocates believe that too because they are never ever willing to join with us and refer it to the people and abide by a direct vote of the people. >> brown: and the republicans who voted in favor of it this time, you think they will be punished? what.... >> i don't think it's

punishment. i think they're accountable to their constituents. they campaigned. mark asanti came to us in 2008 and said help me defeat a democrat who voted for gay marriage. i'm totally for traditional marriage. he's one of the guys who voted for gay marriage. i don't think it will go down well. the democrats really took an issue which is important to their base but not the majority of new yorkers. they satisfied their base. the republican party just sold out their base in order to help the democrats please theirs. it's really dumb politics. >> brown: mr. o'donnell, you can respond to that. i want to know the sort of turning point question here is, does what happened, what just happened in new york represent a kind of model that might go to other states? >> i think it will. in brief response, you know, polling is so subjective to manipulation. when you call someone and ask them at their home whether or not they think marriage should be between one man and one woman, that answer is almost

as equally about polygamy as it is about whether or not i should have the right to get marry. i'm looking forward to the day that a poll is taken where you call people and say, should a gay person be denied a license because they're gay? that is what the question at hand is. if you look at the state of new york's history we have led many movements. the anti-slavery movement and the abolitionist movement started in new york. the right for women to vote started in new york. the anti-apart thid movement started in new york in this country. we have led in many of those things. the truth is no one has ever been able to establish why my ability to get a license, that many of my colleagues have had two and three times is is harmful to anyone at all. in fact it has no impact on anyone else but me. and in the end it was the right thing to do because the vast majority of new yorkers have come to understand that to give me that piece of paper is not a problem to them. it's just something that i should be getting as an equal new yorker to everyone else.

>> brown: do you think, maggie gallagher, that this has repercussions in other states. >> i think it's going to energize the basey norm... enormously. the conservative base. it will probably energize the democratic base in new york as well for andrew cuomo. you know, i think that the majority of people and i understand that mr. o'donnell has his own view. but the majority. >> the majority of people think that marriage is the the union of husband and wife for a reason. these are the unions that make new life and connect children to their mother and father. all of us have the right to live as we choose. not of us have the right to deredefine marriage. >> brown: tell me about the political situation. >> the next big fight is in new hampshire where the question is, in new hampshire the democrats pass gay marriage and the people elect massively repudiated that by

electing a new legislature just as they did in maine in this last election cycle. the people of maine were the first to repeal gay marriage. the question will be whether the legislature in new hampshire becomes the second state to repeal gay marriage. there's a movement in iowa, a movement to pass a marriage amendment in north carolina and the people of minnesota will decide this question unlike the people of new york in 2012 too. >> brown: what is the key that you see in taking what just happened in new york to other states? what does it... what would it require in terms of politics to make happen there what happened in new york? >> well, we have representative democracy for a reason. that's what we have in our country. if you don't believe in representative democracy, then maybe you shouldn't live in this country. we elect representatives. their job is to reflect the will of their constituents and do what the right thing is. there are times that i take positions that my constituents don't agree with. as long as i'm able to explain to them why i came to where i

came to, i'm going to be pretty much all right. in the end as the first gay man to sit in the new york state assembly, i was able to move the vote count from 24 people in 2007 to 85 yes votes. it's a simple process. it's not complicated. but it requires a lot of work and a lot of diligence. in the end, most of my colleagues voted yes because they realize that john and i are not a threat to anyone. john and i just want what others have and many have had more than one time. that's all this is about. i believe that we can replicate this all across this country. i look forward to the day when the marriage act is declared unconstitutional as it was last week by a bankruptcy court in california. i look forward to everyone in america having equality. >> brown: a brief last word. you've seen this play out in the courts and the ballot. >> i do. i don't think this is over. it's not over in new york. i think that an issue like marriage is very foundational. there are people who wish gay

people well in this country but do not believe these unions are marriages. we should keep marriage as it's always been across time and history and place. >> brown: thank you both very much. >> thank you. >> ifill: again, the major developments of the day. the u.s. supreme court ruled it is unconstitutional to bar children from buying violent video games. former illinois governor rod blagojevich was found guilty on 17 federal corruption charges, including an effort to barter president obama's old senate seat. and minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann formally kicked off her campaign today for the republican presidential nomination. and to kwame holman, for what's on the newshour online. kwame? >> holman: there's more on michele bachmann's presidential bid and on gay marriage on this week's political checklist. our health unit looks at a recent study of the chemical b.p.a., used in plastics. when some male mice were exposed to it, they behaved like female

mice. and new research on diabetes finds the number of cases around the world has doubled since 1980, with high rates seen in the pacific islands and parts of the middle east. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. gwen? >> ifill: and that's the newshour for tonight. on tuesday, we'll look at the confirmation hearings for the general who will lead u.s. and nato forces in afghanistan. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you online, and again here tomorrow evening. thank you, and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: chevron. and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations.

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