27 June 2008

SCOTUS and Guns: Legislating From the Bench

I'll comment more on today's Supreme Court decision that overturned a 30-year-old law banning the possession of handguns in Washington, D.C., but needless to say the seriously misguided ruling has, without a doubt, made America less safe. Talk about "legislating from the bench!"

With any luck this ruling will put the issue of judicial appointments front and center in the presidential election. At least two seats look like they'll become vacant in the next presidential term; and with the Court flirting with a Fascist majority, a Democratic president is the only buffer to keep that majority from strengthening.

The courts are the one branch of government where a president's legacy will live for decades. The five justices who threw America's domestic security out the window today (Roberts, Alito, Kennedy, Scalia, and Thomas) were all appointed by Reagan or one of the Bushes. And they're probably not going anywhere soon, so it will be all that more vital to get Obama elected in November just to keep the progressive side of the court tredding water.