The US Supreme Court is in the news around the world. The reason: a series of decisions which are already having – and will continue to have – a massive impact on the lives of ordinary Americans.
The Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling gathered the most coverage, hardly surprising for a decision which overturned Roe v Wade and ended national protection for accessing abortion services after 49 years. But the day before, on June 23, the court also expanded the right to publicly carry weapons (in the aftermath of two mass shooting events and the passage of the first federal gun control legislation since the 1990s).
It has also fundamentally reinterpreted the relationship between church and state, by lowering what has for decades been described as the “wall of separation” between the institutions of government and those of the church. Holding that excluding religion from government consideration discriminates against people of faith. The ruling makes even more religion in public life possible.
