The Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act on Tuesday, the provision of the landmark civil rights law that designates which parts of the country must have changes to their voting laws cleared by the federal government or in federal court.
The 5-4 ruling, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, ruled in Shelby County v. Holder that “things have changed dramatically” in the South in the nearly 50 years since the Voting Rights Act was signed in 1965.
If the Chief Justice means that Bull Connor isn't hosing black people down en masse while giving a giant middle finger to Northerners sympathetic to Civil Rights, yes I suppose it has changed. But it won't be long at the rate open racism and segregation is returning to public life. Thanks Paula Deen!
If anything, the preclearance statutes should be extended to the entire country. *Cough, cough* [fitzwalkerstan!]
Ed at Gin and Tacos put it most poignantly, "Look, the Supreme Court isn't saying racism is over. It's just saying racism won. Relax."
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