My Turn: Whatever happened to ‘originalism?’
Published: 6/6/2021 8:30:14 AM
The Supreme Court’s decision to hear a case pertaining to New York’s strict limits on carrying guns outside the home provides conservative justices the opportunity to apply one of their pet theories: originalism. If they are intellectually honest about doing so, the restrictions will stand.
One of the conservatives’ favorite tropes over the past several decades is a defense of the “original intent” of the founders. Conservatives have deployed this judicial doctrine against what they decry as judicial activism, rulings on the part of judges that, conservatives insist, abrogate the separation of powers mandated by the founders in the Constitution. Curiously, however, these same conservatives have yet to apply originalism to the Second Amendment.
Column: ‘Originalism’ and the Second Amendment
Randall Balmer.
Modified: 6/5/2021 10:10:12 PM
The Supreme Court’s decision to hear a case pertaining to New York’s strict limits on carrying guns outside the home provides conservative justices the opportunity to apply one of their pet theories: “originalism.” If they are intellectually honest about doing so, the restrictions will stand.
One of conservatives’ favorite tropes over the past several decades is a defense of the “original intent” of the founders. Conservatives have deployed this judicial doctrine against what they decry as judicial activism, rulings on the part of judges that, conservatives insist, abrogate the separation of powers mandated by the founders in the Constitution. Curiously, however, these same conservatives have yet to apply originalism to the Second Amendment.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
30 May 2021
CNN anchor Jake Tapper attacked Chris Cuomo on Thursday for advising his brother, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), on sexual harassment allegations.
Tapper spoke to the
New York Times in which he said of Chris Cuomo’s actions, “I cannot imagine a world in which anybody in journalism thinks that that was appropriate.”
A female on-air talent also told The Daily Beast on May 25 that she was “very disappointed” in CNN for not disciplining Chris Cuomo.
“I think some disciplinary action, at a minimum, was required in this situation,” she said.
Jeff Zucker, President of CNN, issued a statement to explain Chris Cuomo “will not be disciplined” for his failure to uphold journalistic standards.
Tenure at UNC-Chapel Hill and changing rules about the Davidson College presidentâs religion pulled both schools into the headlines last week.
These topics remind how hard it is for some of us to accept changes to long-held ideas about our history and our strong religious attachments.
In Chapel Hill, the news dealt with the successful recruitment of Nikole Hannah-Jones by the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media to serve in the prestigious position of Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism.
Hannah-Jones, an alumna of the school, had gained national attention as a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and creator of The New York Timesâ â1619 Project.â