SB203 is a blatant attempt to shut the courthouse doors on the people of Utah, ensuring that lawmakers can pass whatever oppressive laws they want — without fear of challenge or accountability.
Legislators have already gutted ballot initiatives, attacked reproductive rights, stripped away union protections, and overridden voter-approved measures. Now, when the courts push back against these unconstitutional power grabs, the Utah Legislature is responding by trying to dismantle their ability to act altogether.
This is the same playbook used by the Chinese Communist Party: consolidating absolute control, silencing opposition, stripping the courts of power, and ensuring the public has no real way to challenge the government’s rule. Is that really what Utah’s leaders aspire to — a Utah version of the CCP? A system where elected officials answer to no one and the public is powerless?
But here’s the thing about power grabs: they don’t last forever. History is full of regimes that tried to cement their rule by weakening courts and silencing opposition — only to collapse under their own weight. The Soviet Union tightened its grip so hard that corruption and economic stagnation rotted it from within. The CCP itself has spent decades struggling to contain the consequences of its own centralization of power. And right now, we are watching countries like Hungary and Israel face massive internal backlash for similar attempts to weaken their judicial systems.
To quote General Leia Organa, “The more you tighten your grip... the more star systems will slip through your fingers.”
The people of Utah deserve better than one-party rule with no checks and no recourse. The Legislature should do the right thing — or go down in history as the ones who turned Utah into a theocratic, authoritarian state. Is that really the legacy they want?
Drew Reese, Sandy
