To the editor,

In a few short weeks we’ve watched the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issue hyper-partisan rulings that 1) Rob women of their constitutional right to a safe and legal abortion, 2) Make our streets and homes more dangerous by loosening gun restrictions, and 3) Handcuff the EPA in regulating power plant emissions to reduce climate change.

Each of these rulings will have deleterious effects on public health, and taken together they feel very much like a coup, a hostile overturning of the will of the American people. Our country’s psychological landscape seems as drastically altered as it did after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Former President Trump’s SCOTUS appointees have succeeded in continuing the Trump presidency by judicial means, sowing seeds of chaos and violence that may irreparably damage our democracy and our planet.

The remedy for these rogue actions is simple and requires minimal effort from each of us: Vote. Ninety million eligible voters who sat out the 2016 elections could have nipped the Trump debacle in the bud.

Strengthening the US Senate’s Democratic majority can go a long way toward undoing the Court’s damaging decisions. In its next session, the SCOTUS is considering a case that may result in ruling against fair election maps, permanently nullifying the votes of the majority in a state like ours. If we don’t turn out in force at the polls this fall, we may never get another chance.

Thomas R. Smith River Falls