Supreme Court Gunning To Be The Most Hated Institution in America

In their 6-3 decision to overturn the federal ban on bump stocks, the right-wing Supreme Court expects us to run and duck from mass shooters.

Right-wing extremists in black robes with billionaire sugar daddies have once again decided to subject the majority of Americans to their unpopular, antiquated, and destructive ideology. 

In a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling, the unelected conservative justices, who serve lifetime appointments, decided to strike down a federal “bump stock” ban. For those who aren’t subscribers to Guns and Ammo or are firearm fetishists, bump stocks are used to transform semi-automatic rifles into fully automatic machine guns.

Justice Clarence Thomas, who has received millions of dollars of gifts and trips from Nazi memorabilia fan Harlan Crow, wrote that “nothing changes when a semiautomatic rifle is equipped with a bump stock. The firing cycle remains the same.” He added, “a bump stock merely reduces the amount of time that elapses between separate ‘functions’ of the trigger.”

That’s exactly why mass shooters like Stephen Paddock decide to use them. In 2017, he shot and killed 60 people in Las Vegas. Thanks to the bump stock, he was able to fire more than 1,000 rounds in 11 minutes. To this day, it remains the deadliest mass shooting in America by a lone gunman. A woman controlling her own body is more dangerous to these “originalist” conservative justices than a weapon of mass destruction that didn’t exist during the time of muskets and powdered wigs. 

The right-wing majority even went against the orange calf of MAGA, Donald Trump, who as President called for bump stocks to be banned after the Las Vegas shooting. Good to know MAGA acolytes worship something above Trump even if it is an inanimate weapon of death. After the ruling, the Trump campaign said the Supreme Court ruling “should be respected.” It’s comforting to know Trump actually respects something. 

For the sake of posterity and perhaps to maintain her sanity, Justice Sotomayor wrote a strong dissent, warning Americans that the Supreme Court conservative majority “puts bump stocks back in civilian hands. To do so, it casts aside Congress’s definition of ‘machinegun’ and seizes upon on that is inconsistent with the ordinary meaning of the statutory text and unsupported by context or purpose.”

Everything becomes kosher and halal for the conservative majority as long as their rulings are supported by right-wing billionaires and their Christian nationalist agenda. The Constitution and the rule of law are like Play-Doh in their grubby fingers. A majority of Americans approve of the ban on bump stocks and want more gun control. A majority of Americans believe that a woman should have control over her body and a right to choose. A majority of Americans believe in access to birth control. A majority of Americans believe in the separation of Church and state. But none of this matters if six unelected extremists in black robes continue to put the country in a chokehold while sitting on the highest judiciary of the land.

As such, I’m perfectly fine with reforming this Court which has no adherence to anything except advancing their extremist agenda. Some would say this is a “radical measure” but I say some measures are necessary to combat an unhinged Supreme Court majority that laughs at our faces as they roll back a century of progress.

Democrats shouldn’t be afraid to mainstream “expand the Court” as a talking point. No rule says there needs to be 9 Justices. Originally, there were only 6. Also, 3 of the current Justices were appointed by Trump, a twice impeached criminal convict. Let’s remember that Republicans, specifically Senator Mitch McConnell, denied President Obama a chance to have a Congressional hearing for Merrick Garland. We should also start talking about term limits and push for ethical requirements that would create a new code of conduct for justices. A reminder that Justice Robers has not asked Justices Thomas and Alito to recuse themselves from upcoming cases even though their spouses supported the violent insurrectionists. He also refused to meet Senate Democrats to discuss ethics. Will the Justice Department take up Rep. Raskin’s excellent suggestions in his recent NYT piece? I wouldn’t hold my breath.

In the absence of reform, I guess it’s up to Americans to stretch, exercise, and learn how to dodge and outrun bullets instead.