The abortion apocalypse threatens the First Amendment, too – Arkansas Times

The U.S. Supreme Court threw womens rights under the bus yesterday and protests were instantaneous and large. See the Arkansas Capitol last night and you can also see a good crowd at Fayetteville in 40/29s tweet.

Thats good but only symbolic venting. Relief will be a long time coming, if ever.

Also concerning are other trappings of rule by minority that the Supreme Court reversal of Roe embodies along with the minority-favoring Electoral College, states rights only for gun laws with fascist approval, the end of voting rights, political gerrymandering and the end of government regulation (except for that of womens bodies).

Also: what about the First Amendment? There was violence last night. Against speech and assembly, theoretically protected by the First Amendment. Check out:

Arizona:

Or Los Angeles, where police declared an assembly unlawful and broke it up:

Or Cedar Rapids, where a truck drove into a crowd of demonstrators (the second truck-demonstrator collision in Iowa in a week):

And from Rhode Island (the cop has been suspended from duty)

And from a Virginia legislator:

We should be grateful that Secretary of State John Thurston didnt unleash teargas and non-lethal, face-breaking loads against the hundreds who gathered in Little Rock last night.

Count on the Arkansas legislature to join the assault on the First Amendment to further enhance Arkansass status as the most anti-woman state in the country. Interstate travel; advertising for abortion options; medication by mail; advice and financial support by Arkansans for Arkansas women? Expect them all to be under attack. And youll also soon see how empty the assurances were from the Supreme Court majority that same-sex relationships and marriage and contraception are not endangered by Fridays ruling. It provided a road map, as Clarence Thomas made clear, to erode those hard-won rights as well. Trust Kavanaugh or Barrett or Gorsuch not to go along with Thomas, Alito and Roberts on rolling back decisions they opposed? Even Susan Collins might not offer assurances on the next go-round.

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The abortion apocalypse threatens the First Amendment, too - Arkansas Times