This strikes me as incredibly tone deaf. Granted, it’s fair to argue that the Supreme Court makes mistakes, Dred Scott being the most notorious example. But a general rule is that nothing should be likened to the Dred Scott decision, in which the Court treated blacks as property and said they weren’t citizens.

Any time Dred Scott is referenced in modern debates over the Supreme Court, it does one of two things. It either communicates that the speaker insufficiently understands the awfulness of the Dred Scott decision, or, it means that the speaker understands the awfulness of the Dred Scott decision, and is grossly exaggerating the how bad the current decision is.

Republicans who oppose gay marriage are already facing an uphill battle explaining their position to the majority of Americans – especially younger voters — who disagree with them. And they also face ongoing problems winning over minority voters.