Letters: Supreme Court decision shocking on many levels

This Independence Day, my thoughts have been dominated with the news coming out of the Supreme Court.

Weakening laws against corruption, failing to protect the homeless, gutting long standing precedent that prioritized the knowledge of experts over the whims of courts and more.

Yet all of these are overshadowed by the decision in Trump v. U.S. granting almost complete criminal immunity to the president.

The decision by the majority was shocking, both in its scope and the lack of any constitutional support for it. It completely flies in the face of our supposed system of check and balances, setting a dangerous precedent for the future.

Now, presidents will be emboldened to take more extreme illegal actions to benefit themselves personally or to silence rivals.

Even ordering the military to assassinate a rival is now legal for the president according to the Supreme Court.

As Justice Sotomayor pointed out in her powerful dissent, “[…] the president is now a king above the law,” and closing “With fear for our democracy, I dissent.”

What can be done now? There is no appealing from the Supreme Court or legislating over their decisions. There have been some discussions of impeachment, but whether or not that is merited does not change the precedent.

This is bigger than Trump or Biden or any one candidate. This is a threat beyond party lines and individual elections.

However much President Biden claims to the contrary, he does not have the power to single handedly save democracy.

The one solution before us is a constitutional amendment rejecting this disastrous decision.

So act now, contact your representatives in Washington and demand that they fight back against this egregious decision in the one way they can, before it’s too late.

Luke Snyder, Rockford

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Letters: Supreme Court decision shocking on many levels