SCOTUS Nominee Unfit

The popular vote loser in the White House has named an exceedingly controversial nominee to replace esteemed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Aside from the fact that it turns out that our senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, along with every other Republican in the senate lied to us in 2016 regarding the reason to deny then President Obama his constitutional right to name a Supreme Court justice and thus steal a seat, this nominee doesn’t deserve confirmation simply because she doesn’t believe in the actual constitution or at least the parts she doesn’t like.

She, along with numerous far right “thinkers”, claim that the fourteenth amendment is illegitimate. The Fox News crowd suggest that birthright citizenship clause was only intended to help those who had been directly enslaved, and is not applicable to future generations. Some go so far as the claim that since southern senators weren’t seated at the time due to the aftermath of the Civil War both the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments are null and void.

Sen. Jacob Howard (R-MI), the Senate sponsor of the 14^th Amendment, explained that Section One incorporates:

“The personal rights guaranteed and secured by the first eight amendments of the Constitution; such as the freedom of speech and of the press; the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the Government for a redress of grievances, a right appertaining to each and all the people; the right to keep and bear arms; the right to be exempted from the quartering of soldiers in a house without the consent of the owner; the right to be exempt from unreasonable searches and seizures, and from any search or seizure except by virtue of a warrant issued upon a formal oath or affidavit; the right of an accused person to be informed of the nature of the accusation against him, and his right to be tried by an impartial jury of the vicinage; and also the right to be secure against excessive bail and against cruel and unusual punishments. . . .

The last two clauses of the first section of the amendment disable a state from depriving not merely a citizen of the United States, but any person, whoever he may be, of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or from denying to him the equal protection of the laws of the state.  This abolishes all class legislation and does away with the injustice of subjecting one caste of persons to a code not applicable to another.”

Now let’s consider what it means if Justice Barrett got her way and voided the 14^th Amendment. State and local governments could take away your guns, they could infringe on your right to freely associate with others of like mind, states and counties could impose teaching whatever religion those in power decided. Those in power at state or local levels could shutter press outlets that disagreed with them. The governor or mayor could have you arrested for protesting against local government policies. There would be nothing to stop state or local governments from denying women equal rights.

If your ancestors were not recognized as citizens at the time of the revolution or naturalized citizens afterward you would lose your citizenship and therefore your right to vote or even be present in the United States. Justice Barrett has no business getting anywhere near the constitution and I urge you to tell that to John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - September 30, 2020