ALLIANCE VIEWS July 02,, 2013 One Ruling, Separate Views News from Washington DC last June 24, that the US Supreme Court struck down a key part of the historic Voting Rights Act on Tuesday, ruling that Southern states may no longer be forced to seek federal approval before making changes in their election laws elicited varied reactions, Many political analysts were dismayed with the conservative ruling that give way to the gutting of the most important provisions of the voting rights law. To remember, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a product of long people’s struggles starting from 1865 when the southern states started to enact Jim Crow Laws and the same Supreme Court that upheld the ruling “Separate but Equal” that lasted for ar least 70 years to the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950’s to 1960’s. ** For Asian Americans this ruling is painful because many Asian Americans from the Japanese –Americans who were unjustly interned during World War II. This is an emotional issue for the the 250,000 Filipino American World War II Veterans who were stripped of their rights by the infamous Rescission Act by the 79th US Congress, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 means a lot Mosy especially for the African Americans who were supposed to have been freed by the Emancipation Proclamati0n of 1863 and several Congressional fiats,mosy especially the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Well it might as well biblical to say; “What the right hand gives, the left hand took away.” That’s how our way of the life in the United States goes.. *** For many civil rights advocates especially Asian Americans like me, we say the provision struck down Tuesday was still needed because it stopped discriminatory measures before they could take effect. Now, states ( southern states who never admitted that lost the Civil War ) can with impunity can change their laws in favor of their vested interests. Barely the ink has dried after the decisions, the conservatives and racists element in the Southern states likeTexas, Alabama, Georgia, Borth Carolina and others started to gerrymander and lump together Asians and Latino voters away from their bailwicks -predominantly White voters to ensure GOP win in their home districts Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke for the four dissenters. She said the court had made an “egregious” error by striking down a law that had been extended in 2006 by a near unanimous vote in Congress ** The majority view came with the ruling on a 5-4 vote, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. speaking for the court. Justices Antonio Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. joined with the chief justice. What is common to all this black-robed besides being male justices is that they are conservatives. Roberts said the 1965 law had been a “resounding success” and has ensured that blacks now register and vote at the same rate as whites. But he said it was no longer fair or rational to subject these states and municipalities to special scrutiny based on a formula that is more than 40 years old. “States must beseech the federal government for permission to implement laws that they would otherwise have a right to enact and execute on their own,” he wrote. This conflicts with the principle that all the states” ** “Our country has changed in the last 50 years,” the chief justice said. He said that Congress needs to “speak to current conditions.” As it currently stand, nine states are covered by the law based on voting data from the 1960s and early 1970s. enjoy “equal sovereignty” and cannot be subjected to different federal laws, he said Honestly, we don’t really know if these conservative justices live in a different country or we live in the same country or they came from a different planet. They have different perception on what has been really happening on the ground. Well it is easy for them to say " our country has changed for the last 50 years." For them racism and discrimination is all the things in the past and does not exist. If there are problems these are isolated and not the rule. That is what they think, maybe because they live in their own bubble and are enclosed in their air-conditioned rooms in the Supreme Court building in Washington DC, insulated from the real world. ** But the opposite of what they are saying is happening in the country. Right now the case of Trayvon Martin is being heard in Florida. The Supreme Court will hear the case of 41,000 Filipino World War II Veterans and 60.000 survivors widows who were denied their claims by the DVA . Thus the struggle for civil rights and equality continues. ** But the majority view clashed with the minority view that holds that the Voting Rights Act was again passed as a law in a unanimous manner in the last US Congress. Contrary to that the latest Supreme Court decision leaves open the possibility that Congress could adopt a new formula to target states or municipalities for special scrutiny. The American people knows that the Republicans only preserve their slim margin of 33 votes in the house of Representatives by gerrymandering or creating new districts in the southern states before the elections of 2012. And they are dong it again with the help of the Supreme Court. The decision may have an immediate impact. Texas has been fighting federal courts over its voter ID law and plans to redistrict its congressional districts. Those state actions were halted under the part of the law struck down Tuesday. The decision leaves intact the rest of the Voting Rights Act, which makes it illegal to adopt or enforce laws that have a discriminatory effect on minority voters. ** Well, I can say we up again in a struggle for equality and these people in black robes decided again what is the law according to their own views. Maybe it be myopic or not, partisan or class views let the American people decide in the streets. As Frederick Douglas said it nicely: “There is no progress without struggle.” **
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 03:06:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015