Don't disrupt our system of checks and balances

We are at a tipping point in Iowa history and people need to start speaking up. Right-wing extremists are trying to hijack our judicial system. They want judges punished for making rulings that are socially unpopular but legally sound.

Have Iowans forgotten their civics classes? The purpose of having three branches of government is for checks and balances, and the judiciary branch, in particular, is there to protect the rights of all citizens, not just the ruling majority. If not for the court, women wouldn't be able to vote and interracial marriage would not be allowed.

Recently there was a lawsuit, filed by a conservative Indiana lawyer James Bopp Jr. on behalf of four Iowans, asking a federal judge to stop seven of 15 members of the judicial nominating commission from participating in the selection process. The targets of this lawsuit are attorneys elected by the Iowa Bar Association.

Who better to advise the selection of judges than the Bar? As a professional organization, they would know who, in their profession, are qualified. The appointed attorneys don't even make up a majority of the nominating commission.

If a law is deemed to be unconstitutional, then it needs to be rewritten. If you want to discriminate, then you're going to have to change the Iowa Constitution.

Nancy McQuaid

Cedar Rapids