Court Rules Mutants Unfairly Persecuted by SHRA
Court Rules Mutants Unfairly Persecuted by SHRA
By the Associated Press
WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court struck down a vital part of the Superhuman Registration Act today, effectively paving the way for future challenges to the controversial law.
In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that the SHRA is unconstitutional because it unfairly discriminates against those who possess genetic differences by requiring that they register their identities with the government. Moderate Justice Anthony Kennedy, delivering the majority opinion, wrote: “Mutants are human beings, and as such they are entitled to the same protections bestowed upon any other U.S. citizen. The Court rules that the required registration of the genetically different under the Superhuman Registration Act cannot be justified by any prevailing national security concern, and is therefore an indefensible violation of the fundamental right to privacy.”
As precedent for its decision, the Court pointed to the Genetic Differences Discrimination Act of 2002, which established mutants (as those who possess the X-gene are colloquially termed) as a protected class.
However, the Court declined to strike down other controversial provisions of the SHRA, concluding that, “The registration of those individuals who choose to use their extraordinary powers in offensive or otherwise combative capacities is a reasonable and, indeed, necessary step for ensuring the safety of the nation’s citizens. Should genetically different individuals wish to use their abilities to participate in combat, the Court does not feel that the requirement of a license is an unreasonable stricture. So-called ‘superheroes,’ like lawyers, doctors, plumbers, and millions of other professionals, must be trained, licensed, and held accountable for their actions, for the good of all.”
The long-range effects of this decision may not become immediately apparent. By most estimates, the world’s mutant population currently numbers less than 500, and many of this number have actively chosen superheroic careers. However, the specific language used in the opinion leaves uncertain the status of thousands of non-mutant, non-combatant “genetically different” individuals who have obtained their powers through accidental, coincidental, magical, or artificial means. The full effect of the decision, therefore, may not be determined until Congress follows the Court’s mandate to rewrite portions of the SHRA, a process which is to be completed by the end of the month.
The Court also did not address the concern, espoused by many anti-registration activists, that the licensing of superheroes by the Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Directorate has created a de facto peacetime draft that has unfairly forced actively fighting superhumans into a “superhuman army.” This subject hits close to home for one of the primary attorneys on the case, Jennifer Walters, also known as the She-Hulk, a registered superhuman who was recently conscripted into SHIELD service.
However, said Bernadette Rosenthal, the attorney who spearheaded the effort to bring Whedon v. S.H.I.E.L.D. to the nation’s highest court, the case can still be considered a victory for the anti-registration crowd. “This is just the first step,” Rosenthal said, as she vowed to continue challenging the law's various provisions. “The Court has ruled, rightly, that this law is discriminatory. It’s only a matter of time before they realize that it is dangerous for other reasons as well.”
Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, in his dissent, seemed to share this view, though somewhat more pessimistically. “The Superhuman Registration Act was a necessary step for the protection of this nation’s well-being and defense,” he wrote. “To chip away at it now, in the interest of ‘protecting’ a few individuals who would rather keep secret their ability to level mountains with their minds, is to set a dangerous precedent. This decision will only open the door for more disasters like the tragedy at Stamford, Connecticut.”
[OOC: My purpose, with this plot, is to slowly dismantle the worst provisions of the SHRA - the registering of superhumans who aren’t using their powers (mutant and non-mutant alike) and the forced draft - so that I can eventually take Captain America out of hiding without having him go against his principles. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be writing up more tidbits about the Congressional rewriting of the law which will strike down non-combatant superhuman registration for both mutants and non-mutants, and another Supreme Court decision dismantling the compulsory draft.
Anyone who wants to play within these parameters is, of course, more than welcome to. But anyone who doesn’t is also more than welcome to ignore them. With how much the SHRA is affecting current canon, I know that changing it can make things tricky for some people. So please, by all means, feel free to disregard what I’m doing here. I have no intention of making the game difficult for anyone else.]
By the Associated Press
WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court struck down a vital part of the Superhuman Registration Act today, effectively paving the way for future challenges to the controversial law.
In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that the SHRA is unconstitutional because it unfairly discriminates against those who possess genetic differences by requiring that they register their identities with the government. Moderate Justice Anthony Kennedy, delivering the majority opinion, wrote: “Mutants are human beings, and as such they are entitled to the same protections bestowed upon any other U.S. citizen. The Court rules that the required registration of the genetically different under the Superhuman Registration Act cannot be justified by any prevailing national security concern, and is therefore an indefensible violation of the fundamental right to privacy.”
As precedent for its decision, the Court pointed to the Genetic Differences Discrimination Act of 2002, which established mutants (as those who possess the X-gene are colloquially termed) as a protected class.
However, the Court declined to strike down other controversial provisions of the SHRA, concluding that, “The registration of those individuals who choose to use their extraordinary powers in offensive or otherwise combative capacities is a reasonable and, indeed, necessary step for ensuring the safety of the nation’s citizens. Should genetically different individuals wish to use their abilities to participate in combat, the Court does not feel that the requirement of a license is an unreasonable stricture. So-called ‘superheroes,’ like lawyers, doctors, plumbers, and millions of other professionals, must be trained, licensed, and held accountable for their actions, for the good of all.”
The long-range effects of this decision may not become immediately apparent. By most estimates, the world’s mutant population currently numbers less than 500, and many of this number have actively chosen superheroic careers. However, the specific language used in the opinion leaves uncertain the status of thousands of non-mutant, non-combatant “genetically different” individuals who have obtained their powers through accidental, coincidental, magical, or artificial means. The full effect of the decision, therefore, may not be determined until Congress follows the Court’s mandate to rewrite portions of the SHRA, a process which is to be completed by the end of the month.
The Court also did not address the concern, espoused by many anti-registration activists, that the licensing of superheroes by the Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Directorate has created a de facto peacetime draft that has unfairly forced actively fighting superhumans into a “superhuman army.” This subject hits close to home for one of the primary attorneys on the case, Jennifer Walters, also known as the She-Hulk, a registered superhuman who was recently conscripted into SHIELD service.
However, said Bernadette Rosenthal, the attorney who spearheaded the effort to bring Whedon v. S.H.I.E.L.D. to the nation’s highest court, the case can still be considered a victory for the anti-registration crowd. “This is just the first step,” Rosenthal said, as she vowed to continue challenging the law's various provisions. “The Court has ruled, rightly, that this law is discriminatory. It’s only a matter of time before they realize that it is dangerous for other reasons as well.”
Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, in his dissent, seemed to share this view, though somewhat more pessimistically. “The Superhuman Registration Act was a necessary step for the protection of this nation’s well-being and defense,” he wrote. “To chip away at it now, in the interest of ‘protecting’ a few individuals who would rather keep secret their ability to level mountains with their minds, is to set a dangerous precedent. This decision will only open the door for more disasters like the tragedy at Stamford, Connecticut.”
[OOC: My purpose, with this plot, is to slowly dismantle the worst provisions of the SHRA - the registering of superhumans who aren’t using their powers (mutant and non-mutant alike) and the forced draft - so that I can eventually take Captain America out of hiding without having him go against his principles. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be writing up more tidbits about the Congressional rewriting of the law which will strike down non-combatant superhuman registration for both mutants and non-mutants, and another Supreme Court decision dismantling the compulsory draft.
Anyone who wants to play within these parameters is, of course, more than welcome to. But anyone who doesn’t is also more than welcome to ignore them. With how much the SHRA is affecting current canon, I know that changing it can make things tricky for some people. So please, by all means, feel free to disregard what I’m doing here. I have no intention of making the game difficult for anyone else.]