July 10, 2022
Supreme Court Rulings and the New Political Climate
By: Art da Rosa, PE, MPA
The recent Supreme Court rulings have given new hope to the fight for the cause of freedom. After all, Roe v Wade was overturned; the 2nd Amendment is now safe; EPA regulations are unconstitutional; public prayer is protected. All these have given me renewed hope for our nation. But, things may not be as they seem.
Over the past few decades, the fight for freedom has won a few scrimmages. Overall, however, I feel like we have taken it on the chin. So, what do these rulings mean? Or, how are we supposed to take these rulings? And the current political climate?
Roe v. Wade: I cheered loudly when I learned of the rulings of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. With it, Roe v. Wade is now overturned. I have never thought that this day would come. But it’s here. The new ruling means that the States have the right to legislate on health issues, not the federal government. It was delegated to it (U.S. Constitution Article 1, Section 8); as such, the power 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 (Amendment X). Immediately, Mr. Biden issued executive orders to promote abortions. And let’s not forget the attacks on the pro-life women’s health clinics nationwide!
It means that the fight to end the plague of abortion is not over. While Idaho may be on the right side of this issue, abortion is a national issue.
2nd Amendments (2A) Rights: New York and multiple other states have gun regulations that amount to a gun ban. The SCOTUS ruled them unconstitutional and instructed the lower courts to make rulings according to the intent of the Constitution. I agree with this ruling. In addition to the protection of our rights, the court also instructed us to return to the original intent of the Constitution. But it also brought to light the fact that Americans lack a basic understanding of the Constitution. While this ruling gave me hope for the future, more—much more—needs to be done to properly understand and adhere to the Constitution.
EPA regulations: The Supreme Court ruled in the case of West Virginia v. Protection Agency that the EPA was wrong to create regulations when they are not the Legislative Branch of the federal government. Like others, I jumped up with joy when I learned of this case. In my Constitution class, I once asked, “What is the first word in the Constitution, after the Preamble?” The answer is: ALL. Congress was given the authority to pass laws, all laws. Not a portion. Not on occasion. All as in exclusively.
The significance of this Supreme Court ruling is the fact that we as a nation have not been following the constitutional model of law-making. While I cheer for this ruling, Mr. Biden continues to issue executive orders. These are not laws passed by Congress. And there are millions of regulations not passed by Congress.
And let us not forget that the Supreme Court has been issuing laws through their rulings, while the Constitution never gave them that power. (If you are not clear on this issue, please contact me. I taught a lesson on this topic less than a month ago.)
Public Prayer: The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Coach Joe Kennedy that his School District was wrong to prevent him from praying in public. This ruling set the proper limit of the so-called “separation of church and state.” To begin with, the concept of separation-of-church-and-state is not constitutional. It is not in the Constitution, nor in the Federalist Papers. Nowhere!
Thus, religious freedom is protected.
All these rulings are positive signs. But, the War against our Freedom was waged on America to take away her freedom. Even today, we have lost a lot of ground in this war. Why?
The Supreme Court is one of the branches of the federal government. The President of the United States is not on the side of freedom. The Legislation is now controlled by the Democrats, with many RINOs going along with them.
The States, including Idaho, are willing partners with the federal government, eager to do its bidding rather than acting as sovereign states.
More importantly, We the People should be the true sovereign over the government. John Adams said:
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
We are seeing the symptom of the problem, that the people of the United States have not been living up to our responsibility of overseeing the government. Until that moment comes, the assault on our freedom will continue, even if we believe that we won some scrimmages in the Supreme Court.
Mr. da Rosa teaches a Constitution class every Monday from 6:00 to 7:30 pm, which meets at Mountain Valley Baptist Church.
