By Dale Lucht

States’ Rights are in the news again because of recent Supreme Court decisions, mainly striking down the Roe v. Wade precedent. The argument over States’ Rights and Federal Rights has been going on since before 1789 when the Constitution was ratified. It is an argument that state governments are equal to, and may even be more than national government powers. The Federalists sought a stronger national government whereas the Anti-Federalists sought to keep power within state governments.

There have been many battles between the two factions over the last 250 years culminating of course in The Civil War. Southern states wanted to keep slavery and the northern states wanted to end the practice. The Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850 were examples of states’ rights outweighing national rights. In effect if a slave escaped from slavery, they could be hunted down wherever they might be, including Free states.

After the Civil War which the North won, if there are any deniers out there, States’ Right advocates again enforced restrictive laws such as Jim Crow laws in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. These laws enforced racial segregation. It wasn’t until the Supreme Court handed down its 1954 decision on Brown v. Board of Education that segregation was outlawed.  By and large states’ rights are restrictive, but there is one example where it is expanding. Wyoming Territory passed a law that gave women the right to vote in 1869. When Wyoming was being considered for statehood, they were urged by Congress to deny their women the right to vote, as a condition to them becoming a state. They told Congress that they would not become a state if it meant that they could not come in without its women voters. Wyoming became a State in 1890 including its women voters. It wasn’t until the 19^th Amendment was ratified that women got the right to vote nationally in National elections starting in 1920.

States’ Rights advocates mainly want to make laws more restrictive.  Led by the Roman Catholics on the Supreme Court which include Roberts, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett and Alito. As an aside, I believe Samuel Alito would rather have been a jurist during the Spanish Inquisition than a Supreme Court Justice. The rest of the court includes a liberal Catholic in Sotomayor, a Jew in Kagan, and Justice Brown is the only Protestant. In the 5-4 decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett voted in favor of overturning precedent. You know, I find it ironic that when judges are testifying before Congress at their confirmation hearings, they can lie through their teeth, but then when they get on the bench, religious feelings come to the forefront.

Their argument was that states should have the right to make this decision and not the national government. If you notice the same politicians that argued that states should have the right to decide the abortion issue, are now the people that want to make a national decree that no one can get an abortion. As a stop gap measure, they argue that women cannot leave their state to get an abortion, which goes against national laws that allow women to travel where they choose.

Another two-faced ruling of the courts is about the 2^nd Amendment concerning the right to bear arms. If the Activist Justices on the Supreme Court thinks that States’ Rights outweighs National Rights then how come they won’t allow the states to pass common sense restrictions on gun control?

There is a reason why this Supreme Court has its lowest trust ranking ever. They have gutted the Civil Rights Act, they have overturned abortion and women’s right to choose, and they continue to back death by allowing gun ownership to have no restrictions whatever. In my opinion, the Supreme Court should stay out of Politics, Bush vs. Gore, they should stay out of the bedroom, Roe vs. Wade, and they should allow states and municipalities to regulate guns. I would prefer to get back to the days when expansion of freedoms was the norm, not the exception. I’m waiting for the pendulum to start on its return path.