ThinkProgress justice editor Ian Millhiser never fails to deliver the hottest takes, and on Tuesday he declared that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is “a bad man.”
https://twitter.com/imillhiser/status/965974694490001408
Why is he a bad man? Because only a week after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Thomas delivered what Millhiser considers “a pro-gun rant.”
Justice Thomas delivers pro-gun rant just days after the Parkland shooting https://t.co/qGcib6WJWB pic.twitter.com/BKMGJTiXO0
— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) February 20, 2018
So, what exactly was this pro-gun rant? It’s what justice editors at other publications would properly call a “dissenting opinion.”
The plaintiffs in Silvester v. Becerra argued they should not be subject to California’s 10-day “cooling-off” period because they either already own guns or have concealed-carry licenses, which inspired this “rant” by Thomas:
“Common sense suggests that subsequent purchasers contemplating violence or self-harm would use the gun they already own instead of taking all the steps to legally buy a new one in California.”
Wow, is this guy an unhinged gun-nut or what?
“Pro-gun rant.” https://t.co/qVYOSmwiA2
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) February 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/pszczolko44/status/966064516571246598
Agree or disagree, it is a dissent from Supreme Court Justice, not a “rant.” https://t.co/l2BtRColiJ
— John Tierney (@jtierney6) February 20, 2018
It's called a dissenting opinion. It's what judges do. https://t.co/jdGFoOJICb
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) February 20, 2018
It’s called a judicial opinion. You must have failed your basic civics class in high school. https://t.co/1HxqRqOeQt
— Mike Benedict (@mikeyb3102) February 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/ItsTowny/status/966096893221724165
The "rant" is a dissenting opinion on a denial of a writ of cert, on the specific issue of gun rights https://t.co/2tCLxAu2fS
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) February 20, 2018
He issued a dissenting opinion. They do that because it's their job. https://t.co/L8CKEdmGzV
— Emily Zanotti’s Great & Unmatched Wisdom (@emzanotti) February 20, 2018
It’s called a “dissenting opinion” and justices have been writing them since at least 1793, when Iredell dissented in Chisholm v. Georgia, and arguably before that. But call it a “rant” if you think that will give your opinion more credibility. https://t.co/owrAyVGK1D
— Courtney Shadegg (@CShadegg) February 20, 2018
These propagandists at ThinkProgress are shameless. He offered a dissenting opinion, which is what Justices do from time to time. https://t.co/EyJRMLHbsm
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) February 20, 2018
The problem with ThinkProgress is that we they know this is a dumb headline, but they published it anyways 🙁 https://t.co/vYDNWpDcYX
— Jacob Phillips (@lawrence15) February 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/kr7stinareeves/status/966071375004774400
https://twitter.com/molratty/status/965975715832389633
https://twitter.com/molratty/status/965983446941290496
One of the cheapest tricks of bad partisan journalism is describing any discourse you disagree with as a "rant" or a "screed" (see the media's false description of James Damore's so-called "anti-diversity screed"). https://t.co/OeNUGcaFgG
— Sam Hooper (@SamHooper) February 20, 2018
We need more Justices to "rant" in favor of our inalienable constitutional rights. First come rights; then comes government. Government exists to secure our inalienable rights, not to take them away from us. https://t.co/j3pzwYSzm4
— Rick Duncan☘️ (@FedSocLawProf) February 20, 2018
Not to mention:
The "just days later" outrage here is hard to square with the liberal insistence the past few years that there's nothing wrong with opining in the immediate aftermath of a shooting https://t.co/2tCLxAu2fS
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) February 20, 2018
I wonder if anything Ginsburg or Sotomayor said would ever be characterized as a rant? https://t.co/GKc4jwjeMN
— Rohcialism (@roachman61) February 20, 2018
At Think Progress, white justices like Ruth Bader Ginsberg deliver opinions. Black justices like Clarence Thomas deliver rants. https://t.co/nor9FUl81y
— Crusty Gobblestein (@NathanWurtzel) February 20, 2018
Think Progress not happy about the black justice getting all uppity https://t.co/VgKcwBhbod
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) February 20, 2018
Related:
TFG: ThinkProgress toolbag Ian Millhiser calls for a new election if gov shuts down, gets DRAGGED
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