Supreme Court puts Conn. in a changed world

Many Connecticut residents wake up this weekend in a nation that in some ways feels alien. While state lawmakers, with support from voters, have been supporting and passing laws to tighten gun laws and strengthen abortion rights, federal judges have been issuing rulings moving in the opposite direction. Whatever the mood of the country might be, Connecticut appears out of step with prevailing judicial trends.

Fresh off news that a bipartisan group of senators led by Connecticut’s Chris Murphy had passed the first bill at the federal level to tighten gun laws in a generation came word that the U.S. Supreme Court was taking a different approach. The justices ruled against a New York law that limited people’s rights to carry a gun outside the home, and set off a scramble there and in other states to rewrite laws to meet those new standards.

Connecticut officials were quick to say our state was not among those whose gun laws would be immediately affected. Still, they braced residents to expect more challenges. “We should expect a wave of new lawsuits nationwide and here in Connecticut, coordinated by gun groups like the NRA, challenging our assault weapons ban, age restrictions on gun ownership, prohibitions on guns in sensitive locations like schools, and provisions enabling public safety professionals to review the suitability of an applicant before granting a gun permit,” Attorney General William Tong said in a statement.

Abortion is another issue where Connecticut is fighting the national tide. While this state strengthened its laws protecting women’s health care this year, the Supreme Court is going against its own precedent by denying its constitutionality, effectively leaving the question up to individual states. Here again, though, the issue is far from settled, and more legislation and lawsuits should be expected.

Then there’s criminal justice, where Connecticut last session passed a measure increasing police accountability. The Supreme Court, however, has moved to give law enforcement even more leeway in its interactions with the public.

These rulings do not necessarily reflect popular opinion. Most polls show that majorities support a woman’s right to an abortion and are in favor of many gun safety measures. But the Supreme Court is in many ways immune to public pressure, and the pace of change at that level can be agonizingly slow. Rulings the court makes now could stand for generations.

What can Connecticut do in the face of such intransigence? Practically speaking, the state has no choice but to live within the strictures imposed by the high court, which means limitations on what laws can pass here.

That doesn’t mean nothing can be done or we are at the mercy of a hostile judicial branch. Many states, including New York, are meeting in emergency sessions to rewrite their gun laws to abide by the most recent rulings. Connecticut must be prepared to do the same. We may not end up with laws that the state’s residents would hope for, but there is much good that can be accomplished.

Connecticut voters have rights, too. No one is going to ignore Washington. But this state and our representatives will also not be silenced. There is too much at stake.