Apparently, racism is nonexistent in America.
BLOG: Turning Back The Hands Of Time: 2013 Is The New 1965 For Voting Rights
Yesterday, as the Supreme Court listened to arguments that Section 5 “preclearance” of the Voting Rights Act should be taken away, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia contended that renewal would perpetuate racial entitlement.
According to MSNBC:
Scalia made the comment while discussing Congress’s 2006 re-authorization of the law, which was done by a vote of 99-0 in the Senate and 390-33 in the House. According to Scalia, that vote indicates political fear among lawmakers more than any actual need for the protections provided by the law. “I don’t think there is anything to gain by any senator by voting against this Act,” he said. “This is not the kind of question you can leave to Congress. They’re going to lose votes if they vote against the Voting Rights Act. Even the name is wonderful.”
The comment was deemed shocking to the voting rights advocates.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor challenged Scalia’s comments, asking “Do you think Section 5 was voted for because it was a racial entitlement?” She also asked “Do you think racial discrimination has ended?”
One leading advocate for the Voting Rights Act took it even further.
“It’s a severe misreading of the law, and quite shocking that he would use that shorthand to describe a major law of the magnitude of the Voting Rights Act in such a way,” Barbara Arnwine, the president of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law told MSNBC.com in an interview.
“This law does not entitle anybody to anything other than the fundamental protection from racial discrimination,” Arnwine continued. “That’s all it does.”
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The court continues the hearing to decide the fate of Section 5, but it’s clear that Scalia is a little out of touch with the reality of racism in America, don’t you think?
SOURCE: MSNBC
