Lawmakers issue court-packing threat again

AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib

From the moment the Supreme Court ostensibly became 6-3, Democrats have been pushing the idea of court-packing.

Their thinking is that if the Court’s makeup isn’t to their liking, they can just expand it until it they get a makeup they like.

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It’s an idiotic idea that completely ignores the fact that if they can do it, so can their opponents, but they’ve still floated it more than once.

Now, the idea is back, as Larry Keane notes over at The Truth About Guns.

The unauthorized leak of a draft abortion opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court has Democrats up in arms (again) about packing the U.S. Supreme Court. This isn’t a new argument and one gun control advocates publicly pitched before.

Senators are openly calling for court-packing again and that’s before the Supreme Court has rendered a final opinion on New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen or finalized the opinion of the leaked abortion draft decision. Even before the nine justices heard arguments on the New York case challenging the states arbitrary and restrictive “may issue” concealed carry permit criteria, there were calls for court-packing.

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) filed an amicus brief in NYSRPA v. New York supporting restrictive gun control but took arguments beyond supporting the law with threats to upend the court’s structure. That case was ultimately declared “moot” by the Supreme Court after New York City altered the law to avoid the Court striking down the law.

“Perhaps the Court can heal itself before the public demands it be ‘restructured in order to reduce the influence of politics.’ Particularly on the urgent issue of gun control, a nation desperately needs it to heal,” Sen. Whitehouse wrote.

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What Whitehouse meant was that the restructuring would make sure only the right kind of politics influenced the court. God knows he wouldn’t want a Supreme Court that took the Second Amendment literally or anything.

Moving on…

It’s a fool’s errand to predict a Supreme Court ruling, but the justices’ questions offered insight that they appeared to be wary of New York’s subjective qualifications to obtain concealed carry permits. The decision will be the most significant on gun rights since the 2010 McDonald decision.

That’s got gun control groups acting like spoiled school children. They’re throwing fits. They too want to change the court’s structure. Several of these groups joined together for a discussion on how to change the rules and rig the system against law-abiding Americans and their God-given right to self-defense.

First, go read the whole thing. Second, understand that most of what we’re seeing with regard to court-packing is because of Roe v. Wade. They’re furious that this happened.

While anti-gun zealots are talking about court-packing, most leftists are focused on abortion at the moment and aren’t thinking of NYSRPA vs. Bruen.

That will change, though.

If they get their way right now, the Second Amendment will really be little more than collateral damage. Happily so for pretty much all of them, but collateral damage nonetheless.

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That will change when the Bruen decision comes out–though whether it will come out as it normally does or if this, too, will be leaked remains to be seen–and then it’ll be on.

However, for the same reason President Joe Biden can’t ram through whatever nominee he wants to head the ATF will actually put this in check.

In other words, there just aren’t enough votes in the Senate.

Further, with most experts foreseeing a bloodbath for Democrats in the midterms, it’s unlikely those votes will materialize.

So while this is a real threat, we shouldn’t get too worked up about it just yet.

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