I Can't Complain

Although some are concerned about today's Supreme Court ruling against death penalty sentences for minors, I, for one, am glad for it overall. The representation that this is European thinking valued over American thinking doesn't hold as much water as it might seem. Justice Kennedy, in writing for the majority, also cites the thirty states who already do not allow such a ruling, and he notes the extreme paucity of cases in those states that do allow such a ruling. He also adds that the majority age of eighteen is set for just this sort of thing--assessment of culpability. Justice Scalia, in dissent, is worried that the Court is becoming the sole arbiter of morality. This is the one aspect of the ruling that bugs me. I would prefer the Supreme Court to stay out of it altogether and let the states do the heavy lifting. Where I stick is Justice Kennedy's arguments on popular opinion. If he feels so strongly about popular opinion, throw the case back to the states and let each state's populace voice its opinion. But, hey, I'm a state's righter through and through. Nonetheless, I'm happy with the results of today's actions, if not the process. Although abortion operates on grander scale, both practices propagate a culture of death and need to be abolished. Today's ruling is a thankful step in that direction.