Several recent Supreme Court decisions have raised rancor in some circles of right thinking citizens.

The decision of the United States Supreme Court in the Michigan law school admission case confirmed that affirmative action is still a viable means to equalize the opportunity for an education among races in this country. The other recent case of note was the decision of the Court that the right of privacy took precedence over a sodomy law, a decision which enraged conservatives with strong anti-gay views.

How do these decisions fit within our justice system? I applaud these decisions as they would not be popular in any other nation in the world. Certainly, these decisions are most probably not popular in this country.

The critical difference between our country and most others is that we have an independent court that is separate from the executive branch of the government. It is the function of the judiciary to interpret our Constitution, not merely to follow the lead of the current political party in power.

The decisions of our Supreme Court may not always be popular with the masses. But just think about whether segregation would ever have been illegal if popular opinion controlled the law in this country. Certainly, throughout history, our country has been strengthened by an independent, non-political court with the courage to enforce our Bill of Rights.

For this reason, it is proper and Constitutionally protected to help those that do not have an equal opportunity and to keep the government out of our churches and our bedrooms. This was the premise of our Founding Fathers. Let us speak out against popular rampages that seek to diminish our rights. For let it be said that those that say when “guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns” will also eat their words when it is said that “when human rights are outlawed only non-humans will have rights.”

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