‘Hard for it to be a bigger deal’: The future of American rights
The Voting Rights Act. Title IX sex discrimination legislation. The Americans with Disabilities Act. Supreme Court rulings overturning state bans on contraception and interracial marriage, and legalizing abortion and gay marriage.
In general, over the past 60 years Americans have experienced a sweeping expansion of federally guaranteed personal rights. During this “rights revolution” era, the United States government established a foundation of laws that apply to every state in the land.
But that era now appears to be over. If anything, the tide may be running in the other direction, as conservative justices and Republican-controlled states look to roll back aspects of this revolution that they believe constitute legal overreach.
The Voting Rights Act was trimmed in 2013, when the Supreme Court overturned a provision that required states with a history of discrimination to submit proposed voting changes to the Department of Justice. The landmark abortion ruling of Roe v. Wade may be next, as the court appeared to be leaning toward limiting abortion rights during oral arguments in December.
If abortion is limited, other personal rights guaranteed by the federal government could also be in question, from same-sex marriage and sexual activity to access to birth control and some fertility treatments.
That is because the logic
