Our built-in state of discord
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to punish Disney for joining the backlash against his so-called "don't say gay" legislation. Credit: AP/Phelan M. Ebenhack
State government actions, carried out far from Washington, combine to drive the worry if not the reality that we really are the Disunited States of America. From one region to the next, you can traverse separate republics with big variations of law and mood. That's not new in the U.S., but it shapes important issues of the moment.
Recent rulings by certain judges are prompting various states to defiantly or gladly change their statutes in response — and reopening debates you might have thought were settled.
With the U.S. Supreme Court expected to soon strike down Roe v. Wade, the Louisiana House of Representatives has pushed a measure deeming abortion homicide from “the moment of fertilization” and allowing prosecution of patients and providers. In New York, however, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James — both Democrats up for election — vow to strengthen state laws the other way, assuring abortion rights.
If you think Roe is stirring up the state capitals, get ready for a storm over gun restrictions, which are also under review in the Supreme Court. Specifically, New York’s gun licensing system is in the crosshairs.
Just this week, a U.S. appellate panel out West struck down California’s ban on selling semi-automatic weapons to adults under 21. “America would not exist without the heroism of the young adults who fought and died in our revolutionary army," wrote Judge Ryan Nelson, a Republican from Idaho, for the 2-1 majority. "Today we reaffirm that our Constitution still protects … the right of young adults to keep and bear arms.”
A cynic might wonder: Could our local Crips, Bloods and MS-13 take that as a badge of legitimacy? Well, it's far more possible that such statements, if spun effectively in Albany, could mean less election pressure on New York Democrats. That's because heads of the dominant state party already blame rising violent crime on gun traffic; they could get the added chance to inveigh against elite GOP judges as too soft on guns, perhaps deflecting debate on bail laws.
The courts aren't alone in whipping state policies into a frenzy on the national stage. One unusual state fight involves Florida and the Disney corporation. The Walt Disney Co. has special arrangements through a municipal district encompassing Walt Disney World, including low-cost financing for certain projects.
Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to punish Disney for joining the backlash against his so-called "don't say gay" legislation, to bar discussing LGBTQ issues with school children in grades K-3. DeSantis, a Republican, apparently sees himself as presidential timber in two years.
Other issues are more likely to affect neighboring states. Just as New York and California declined to help carry out President Donald Trump's deportation drive, red states seek to conduct their own Southern-border enforcement, to prod President Joe Biden. And while Democratic-led states have challenged the past GOP White House on climate change, Republican-led states now go their own way on environmental regulation.
Tensions are built into our federal system. Much of the discord of the day comes from centuries-old checks and balances by which no level or branch of government is supposed to ride roughshod over the others. As a nation, this is the system we have, or you might say, the business we have chosen. It isn't about to change.
Columnist Dan Janison's opinions are his own.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
