Ronald Brownstein, Columnist

Fundamental Rights Shouldn’t Depend on Your ZIP Code

Ending nationwide injunctions would further fragment the US when red and blue states are already diverging.

May 29, 2025 at 8:00 AM EDT

Ronald Brownstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. He is also a CNN analyst and previously worked for The Atlantic, The National Journal and the Los Angeles Times. He has won multiple professional awards and is the author or editor of seven books.

One flag, two nations?
Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

One of the most powerful trends in modern politics is the growing separation between red and blue states. Now, the Supreme Court looks poised to widen that chasm.

Over roughly the past decade, virtually all Republican-controlled states have rolled back rights and liberties across a broad front: banning abortion; restricting voting rights; censoring how teachers can discuss race, gender and sexual orientation; and prohibiting transition care for transgender minors. No Democratic-leaning state has done any of those things. The result is the greatest gulf since the era of Jim Crow state-sponsored segregation between the rights guaranteed in some states and denied in others.