WS Chronicle

Kavanaugh nomination could imperil gained rights

To the Editor:

Brett Kavanaugh may bring the requisite experience, but given Donald Trump’s promise to overturn Roe v. Wade, the decision that recognized the right to an abortion, and efforts to reverse progress on civil rights and civil liberties, that’s not enough. It’s incumbent on Congress to determine whether Kavanaugh’s legal views are compatible with the powerful role he will play for generations. 

If confirmed, Kavanaugh could very well be the decisive vote Trump needs in the Supreme Court to give his concerted campaign to undermine civil liberties and civil rights long-term impact. And in light of President Trump’s promise to appoint justices who would overturn Roe, this nomination could jeopardize the right to an abortion millions of women and families have relied on for more than four decades.

Justice Kennedy kept the court in the mainstream by having an open mind and a commitment to an evolving Constitution. Senators should ask Kavanaugh whether he agrees that constitutional law evolves with the times, as it did in recognizing that segregation is unconstitutional, that sex discrimination violates the Equal Protection Clause, and that marriage equality is constitutionally guaranteed.

David Cole, Legal Director, American Civil Liberties Union, New York

Note: As a matter of organizational policy, the ACLU does not oppose or support presidential nominees.

Nomination means time to make voices heard

To the Editor:

The July 9 announcement threatens to destroy decades of progress made by our nation’s most vulnerable communities, and it locks in a white supremacist agenda from the Capitol to the White House to the halls of our nation’s highest courts.

People of color, women and so many other folks pushed to the margins of America have already lost so much under this administration’s racist, misogynist, anti-immigrant, corporations-first policies. Things will only get worse with Judge Brett Kavanaugh as Trump’s nominee.

We’ve already seen decisions restricting union organizing, barring Muslims from traveling to our shores and gutting voting rights. With this new nominee, we have now opened the door to ending a woman’s right to choose, affirmative action and other major rights that protect black, brown and the poor.

Those who believe those rights should be protected, and that corporations shouldn’t, must stand with our communities in this fight. Win or lose, now is the time to make our voices heard in the streets to stop Trump’s agenda from taking root in all three branches of our national government.

Maurice BP-Weeks, Co-Executive Director, ACRE, Chicago

Note: The Action Center on Race & the Economy (ACRE) is a campaign hub for organizations working at the intersection of racial justice and Wall Street accountability.