Texas abortion law model could spread to guns, free speech, Supreme Court is told – By Todd Ruger (Roll Call) / Oct 28 2021
The ‘possibilities are limitless’ for copycat laws that target other rights, abortion providers and experts contend
The Supreme Court faces arguments that a novel enforcement scheme Texas created for its abortion law could be used by states to neutralize other constitutional rights related to guns, protests, campaign finance and more.
The warning comes from not only the Justice Department and the abortion providers that have challenged the Texas law but also constitutional scholars, states, former prosecutors and law enforcement officials and a California-based nonprofit group that pushes for gun rights.
“It is hardly speculation to suggest that if Texas succeeds in its gambit here, New York, California, New Jersey and others will not be far behind in adopting equally aggressive gambits to not merely chill but to freeze the right to keep and bear arms,” the Firearms Policy Coalition told the justices in a brief.
The structure of the Texas abortion law so far outflanked the typical process to halt enforcement of a law while a constitutional challenge moves through the court system. Some legal experts contend the potential spread of similar laws ultimately threatens the authority of the Supreme Court itself.
