A tweet that U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) sent on Saturday in response to former President Barack Obama's regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade gave way to speculation that the longtime lawmaker is calling for the return of segregation, Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported.
In response to Obama criticizing the 6-3 vote to end constitutional protections for abortion, Cornyn interjected, “Now do Plessy vs. Ferguson/Brown vs. Board of Education,” according to KXAN.
The tweet to the country's first black president led to a wave of responses on the social media platform, prompting a Cornyn spokesperson to clarify the senior senator's remarks, the station reported.
The website History.com explains that Plessy v. Ferguson was a decision the high court reached in 1896 that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine arising from plaintiff Homer Plessy's refusal to sit in the black persons' section of a train four years prior while the unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education nearly 60 years later deemed racial segregation of children in public schools as unconstitutional.
According to the spokesperson for the senator, KXAN reported, the lawmaker thought Plessy was a bad opinion and precedent alone won't suffice to keep bad decisions in place.
Cornyn, who served as Texas attorney general (AG) before his election to the Senate 20 years ago, then tweeted, “Thank goodness some SCOTUS precedents are overruled.”
Like his fellow Republicans, the senator lauded the decision reached in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
"The court has restored one of the core principles of our Constitution with this landmark ruling," he said in a statement that was ran by KXAN. "This decision correctly returns the authority of states to decide the limits on abortion and will save countless innocent lives."
Last May, a draft pointing toward such a ruling was leaked, turning the Supreme Court into a site for abortion rights protests.
A bipartisan gun control bill that Cornyn led discussions on was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Saturday.
CBS News reported that the bill reached the White House after the U.S. House of Representatives followed the Senate's lead and passed the legislation on Friday.
The bill was crafted weeks after fatal mass shootings occurred at an elementary school in Uvalde and a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.