Activists for and against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act rallied outside the United States Supreme Court last week as the Justices heard arguments on the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) v. Sebelius. Despite the fact that Justices will be deciding the carse on the Constitutionality of the law, conservative and liberal activists lined up outside SCOTUS beginning at 7am on the first day of the trial, Monday, March 26, to voice their opinions, including many young voters.
Conservatives were largely outnumbered on the first two days of the trial, except during a rally held by Rick Santorum and a march led by grassroots organization Americans for Prosperity. Members of the Tea Party Patriots would not be deterred, though, and attempted to make their voices heard over the chats of union bosses and Obama allies, even as they attempted to shout down Tea Party darling Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) on the second day of the hearing. On Wednesday, the final day of the hearing, advocates for both sides of the argument were more subdued after a long week of protesting.
The Supreme Court could decide not to rule on the case at this time as key parts of the law, including the individual mandate, will not go into effect until 2014, but the court hinted that they would rule sooner rather than later on the controversial case and a ruling is expected by the end of the current session in June.
