Remember the Texas Fed judge ruled 18-20 can carry .. now the pro gun AG is Appealing it ..

[Acer-m14]

now this is a chess game ..

moving the ruling from fed judge to district court ( covers more states ) or to SCOTUS to cover all the states ..

 

[John Stark]

now this is a chess game ..

moving the ruling from fed judge to district court ( covers more states ) or to SCOTUS to cover all the states ..

It might be likened to a chess match with the current makeup of the Court, but that is fraught with peril.

The most immediate peril is the fact that its obvious that the Supremes are hesitant to enforce their own rulings. From Heller and McDonald to Bruen, there was a very long gap of time before they took up another case dealing with the 2A (14 years). The Supremes don't have to take up any given state, and there is never a guarantee they will rule in favor of the any given Constitutional provision. We have more than a couple of Supremes besides Roberts who pretend to be "originalists."

However, the real danger here is that the makeup of the Court will change. Thomas could, heaven for bid (I say this with all due respect for the man!) pass away (he's in his 70s), and its possible he could retire at some point if he feels he is not up to the task any longer. I could see that happening, especially since he is a man of integrity and may not want to be carried out of the Supreme Court building feet first like Ginsberg was, where she held on to the point that it was obvious she was mostly phoning her decisions in as she declined in her health.

My hope is that Justice Thomas has great health and his mind stays keen as it always has been, and its my personal opinion that he understands that he has his position as a bulwark on the Court as a special dispensation from Almighty God in a time of great need for our nation. I believe he truly is a man that understands his obligations given his position, and won't step aside unless he must due to health issues. (To be clear, I am not aware of him being in poor health at all! Thank Goodness!)

But its a real possibility that could happen given his age.

While the Court is obviously a check on the other branches of government, it has in the past fallen victim to the politics and philosophies of the day. The makeup of the court obviously plays into that, and while the Court doesn't have rapid turn over, there have been pivotal times where a retirement or a death has changed the calculus to the detriment of our nation.

This is why, in my opinion, good legislation and good hand on the wheel in the White House is usually better than crossing our fingers that the Court, the weakest branch of FedGov (IMO) is not the end all be all its made out to be.

A chess match today can turn into a game of checkers tomorrow.