BCT Editorial – 7/5/08

This page was last updated on July 6, 2008.

Bits & bites; Editorial; Beaver County Times; July 5, 2008.

“LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy continues to drive hard-line conservatives and right-wingers up the wall. Kennedy was the fifth vote in the decision that ruled the death penalty did not apply to child rape, which brought the wrath of the right down on him. However, he also provided the fifth vote in the ruling that said the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to own a gun, which sent the right into ecstasy.”

What are “hard-line conservatives and right-wingers?” It would be nice for the Times to provide its working definition, though its dictionary is probably a “living document.”

If Mr. Kennedy drives “hard-line conservatives and right-wingers up the wall,” doesn’t he do the same to hard-line leftists and left-wingers?

I can speak only for myself, but I doubt many conservatives ever “ love” Mr. Kennedy any more than the four leftist justices. After all, how can a conservative “love” a judge who regularly interprets laws according to his personal policy preferences?

I don’t believe the Second Amendment ruling “sent the right into ecstasy.” It was more like temporary relief. After all, only one judge has to flip to cause effective repeal of the Second Amendment. Fortunately for Pennsylvanians, Article I, Section 21 (Right to Bear Arms) of the PA Constitution states, “The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.” That said, creative reading by the wrong judges can overturn just about anything.