I know a good idea when I hear one, and this is one. Dan Savage argues that it is high time we have our right to privacy enshrined in the Constitution - before conservatives manage to forever banish said right.
Because the right to privacy is the basis of the Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) ruling, which found that married women are too allowed to use birth control, and since said ruling was used as precedent in Roe v. Wade, conservatives are forced to forever argue that American citizens do not, and should not, have a right to privacy.
As Savage points out, in a full-fledged campaign for a Right to Privacy Amendment, conservatives would scare the public to death if they seriously argued against it. Yeah, I know, they already scare most of us.
It's not like we're getting anywhere with the Equal Rights Amendment, and that's after fighting for it for more than 80 years!
We need this.
Here's a snippet from Savage:
Much flows from Griswold, including 2003’s Lawrence v. Texas, which found that even homos had a right to privacy, and that consensual, private homosexual sex can’t be criminalized. (That was the end of sodomy laws in the U.S.)
If the Republicans can propose a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, can’t the Dems propose a “Right to Privacy” amendment? Since the RTP is popular (unlike the anti-gay marriage amendment), the Dems should put it out there and let the Republicans run around the country explaining why they're against a right to privacy—not a winning position. Then, once it passes, we’ll be spared the debate over whether or not the RTP is in there every time a conservative is nominated to the Supreme Court.
The Right to Privacy Amendment—c’mon, Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, Ted Kennedy, Patty Murray, Barak Obama! Propose it!
Hat tip to Americablog...
Right to Privacy Feminism Reproductive Rights Patriarchy Politics Regulating Women Abortion Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Griswald Supreme Court Alito
