It's been a while since I posted anything here, but this is something I put together four years ago and handed out in late October and early November 2008. It is directed to women and GLBT citizens. Your rights are on the ballot Tuesday.
I believe that the next President will likely nominate at least two, maybe as many as FOUR Supreme Court justices (replacing Ginzburg, Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy if Romney is elected so as to assure a 6-3 majority for another decade at least) If Obama is re-elected, Ginzburg only will be replaced, unless one of the other justices is forced to retire or dies.
Women's and GLBT Rights on the Ballot Tuesday
Just a few years ago, the United States Supreme Court issued the landmark decision of Lawrence v. Texas, striking down the state’s anti-sodomy statute, Article 21.06 of the Criminal Code, a law that criminalized conduct only when done by gay men. It wasn’t in some rural backwater; it was right here in Houston, the state’s largest city, one with a large gay population that two men had been prosecuted for private consensual conduct between two adults.
The Lawrence decision was founded explicitly on the right to privacy, the same right that Roe v. Wade is based on, recognizing a woman’s right to control her own body. And though the right to privacy has been recognized in constitutional law for decades, it is under assault by the Republican party in a way that may end up destroying it forever.
Mitt Romney has pledged to the right wing of the Republican party that he will appoint Supreme Court justices who oppose reproductive rights and do not recognize the right to privacy. Even contraception by married heterosexual couples could be in danger!
When a law like the Texas anti-sodomy statute is declared to be unconstitutional, it does not disappear from the books. It is simply considered to be unenforceable. And when the right to privacy disappears, it and laws like it will be enforceable again. It is likely that after a Romney appointment or two to the Supreme Court, we will see a “test case” prosecution of either homosexual conduct or an “abortion” test case and the Court will overrule both Roe v. Wade and Lawrence v. Texas.
At least two Supreme Court justices are likely to resign or retire in the next few years. Your privacy and your civil liberties are at stake. Mitt Romney as President will be constantly trying to prove how “conservative” he is. (Just why it’s considered “conservative” to allow government to intrude into private relationships is another matter.)
President Obama will protect your privacy and rights by appointing judges who respect those rights.