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Revisiting the major rulings

Last week there were several important rulings handed down by the Supreme Court. Before discussing these decisions, it is important to discuss the role of the Supreme Court.

The Court is one of the three separate but equal branches of our government that provide checks and balances on each other. The legislative branch comprised of the House and Senate initiates and writes bulls. The Executive Branch in the person of the president either signs these bills into law or vetoes them. Finally, the job of the Supreme Court is to rule on the constitutionality of these laws. It has no constitutional role in making law as occurred in the original Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

The first ruling came on June 23. The Court ruled that the 1913 New York state law requiring, that persons applying for a concealed carry permit for a firearm give a reason for the request, was an infringement of the Second Amendment and therefore unconstitutional . Students of the Bill of Rights tell us that the 10 amendments constituting the Bill of Rights were added to the Constitution to protect citizens from an oppressive government which grew out of the framer’s experience with British colonial governments in the years prior to the Revolution. The rights delineated in the Bill of Rights are primary rights that require no prerequisites such as was required by the New York state law.

Those who disagree with the ruling stated that the issuing of concealed carry permits would become a “free for all.” However, as Justice Clarence Thomas pointed out in the majority opinion the ruling does not now mean that the Second Amendment is without limits.

Far from it. New York will still require a permit to carry a concealed weapon, it may require a certain level of training, and even extensive background checks. The importance of the ruling is the fact that it will allow any law abiding and responsible citizen to carry a concealed fire arm without having to show how their life would be impacted adversely if a permit were not issued.

Finally, I was struck by the reaction of our governor and the mayor of New York City, a former policeman. Both gave the impression in their remarks last week that they expected New Yorkers to rush out and buy guns and start shooting things up. They should have more faith that the people of New York will act responsibly.

The following day the court announced its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that effectively overturned the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. Despite claims by abortion rights advocates that abortion is now illegal in the United States and that the nation will return to a time when women seeking abortions went to back-alley practitioners, none of this is true.

What the decision does is to return the issue of abortion, which is not mentioned in the Constitution, to the states where by law it belonged all along. The Tenth Amendment clearly states that “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

The language of the Tenth Amendment explains the difference between the two decisions. That the right to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed is stated clearly in the Second Amendment while abortion is not mentioned at all in the document meaning that the issue of abortion must be decided at the state level by representatives elected by the people.

So, I think that we all should cool our rhetoric and let the question of abortion play out in the states. Some states, like New York will continue to allow abortion just short of birth. Other states will restrict it in some ways and other states will ban abortion but in each state the voice of the people will be heard and play a role as the Constitution was meant to allow.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade must be a bewildering time for women who see abortion as the only option in case of an “unwanted” pregnancy. But they do have other options whether it be the use of some form of birth control by either parent or carrying the baby to term and putting it up for adoption, a far better fate for a child than disposal in a dumpster behind an abortion clinic. They can also reach out to prolife organizations for support and advice.

Finally, I find ironic that some of the politicians who were most enraged by the violence of the protests on Jan. 6, 2021, have played prominent roles in stirring up potentially violent protests by supporters of abortion against the Justices in the majority. However, as a Catholic my anger is reserved for those Catholic politicians who have closed their hearts and minds to the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of life from conception to natural death.

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident.

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