The Right Doesn't Respect The Constitution

The right-wingers in the United States like to talk about their love of the United States Constitution. And we'll be hearing a lot in the coming days about their constitutional rights when it comes to owning and carrying a firearm. They'll be quoting (and trying to stretch the meaning of) the Second Amendment so many times we'll get sick of hearing it -- as they try to head off any reasonable restrictions on gun ownership in this country.

But their love of the Constitution seems to disappear when it comes to things they want -- things that are forbidden by that same Constitution. A good example of this is religion. Right-wing fundamentalist christians seem determined to impose their own particular brand of christianity on the rest of America -- by imposing prayer in the schools and creationism in the science classroom, but mandating prayers in public government meetings at all levels, by allowing religious displays on government property, and in many other ways at all levels of government. They seem not to care about the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom for ALL Americans -- including those of other religions and those with no religion at all.

Then you have the problem of right-wingers wanting to deny Americans the constitutional guarantees of voting rights and equal representation rights -- two of the most important rights we have in sustaining our democracy. Multiple attempts were made in the last electoral campaign to deny American citizens their right to vote (and in some cases they were successful). And after the 2010 efforts to gerrymander electoral districts to favor conservatives, it was found that they had violated the Constitution by denying representation to minorities (Texas was a prime example of this, as their districts were tossed out by federal courts).

The right-wing disrespect for the Constitution even extends to the immigration issue. The Constitution clearly says that anyone born in the United States (and subject to U.S. laws) is a citizen of the United States. That is not new. But it is something the right-wing doesn't like, and even though the 113th Congress is only a few days old there has already been a bill introduced that seeks to deny citizenship to children born in the United States of parents who are not citizens. The unconstitutional bill was introduced by right-wing nut-job Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).

The right-wing in this country doesn't really respect the United States Constitution. They are happy to use it when it supports what they want, and quick to ignore it when it prevents what they want -- and that is just wrong. There is a mechanism for changing the Constitution -- a mechanism that has successfully in the past. But we must not allow the right to ignore or abuse the Constitution, because that would mean we are a nation without law -- and soon without freedom.