Our Struggle for Freedom (ANSWERED)

QUESTION

Required Resources

Read/review the following resources for this activity:

• Textbook: Chapter 15, 16
• Lesson: Read this Week’s Lesson which is located in the Modules tab.
• Initial Post: minimum of 2 scholarly sources (must include your textbook for one of the sources). Follow-Up Post: minimum of 1 scholarly source for your Follow-Up Post.

Initial Post Instructions

For the initial post, respond to one of the following options, and label the beginning of your post indicating either Option 1 or Option 2:

• Option 1: The Equal Rights Amendment was first proposed almost a century ago and has still not been added to the United States Constitution. It is supposed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. It was first introduced to Congress by Alice Paul, leader of women’s suffrage movement in 1923. Compare/contrast the Equal Rights Amendment with the Fourteenth Amendment. Did they deal with separate concepts? Explain your answer.
• Option 2: The Bill of Rights is not only included with the United States Constitution but also state constitutions. All states have provisions in their constitutions that protect individual rights. Go online and look up your state constitution concerning amendments that are included in the Bill of Rights. How does your state constitution protect your individual rights?

Be sure to make connections between your ideas and conclusions and the research, concepts, terms, and theory we are discussing this week.

ANSWER

Option 1

Compare/contrast the Equal Rights Amendment with the Fourteenth Amendment. Did they deal with separate concepts? Explain your answer.

The Equal Rights Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment both deal with the concept of equality. The Equal Rights Amendment proposes that no state should deny or abridge the equality of rights on account of sex. This clause suggests that all men and women in the United States should have equal rights, regardless of gender. The 14th Amendment has a similar clause, indicating that no state will deny any person “the equal protection of the laws” (Cornell Law School, 2018). This phrase, the equal protection of laws, means that state laws and courts must treat everyone equally and refrain from discriminating. Both amendments campaign for all persons to have equal rights.

However, the Fourteenth Amendment deals with a broader range of discrimination cases than the Equal Rights Amendment, which only focuses on gender discrimination. These cases include gender discrimination, segregation laws, and reproductive rights discrimination. It was invoked in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas case (a racial discrimination lawsuit), Roe v. Wade (reproductive rights lawsuit), University of California v. Bakke (racial quotas in education), and Reed v. Reed (gender discrimination lawsuit) (Cornell Law School, 2018). The 14th Amendment is all-encompassing in its equality clause, while the Equal Rights Amendment primarily promotes gender equality.

Section 2 of the Equal Rights Amendment, including its phrasing, is similar to section 5 of the 14th Amendment. These sections state that “the Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article” (Cornell Law School, 2018). Other areas of these amendments deal with separate concepts. For example, section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment deals with the apportionment of state representatives, while section 4 deals with debts, obligations, and claims (Cornell Law School, 2018). The Equal Rights Amendment does not deal with the above concepts.

Option 2:

The Bill of Rights is not only included with the United States Constitution but also state constitutions. How does your state constitution protect your individual rights?

The state first uses the Bill of Rights to protect individual rights. The Bill of Rights guarantees my civil rights and liberties and limits the power of the government. Almost two-thirds of the Bill of Rights safeguards the rights of expression, crime suspects, fair trials, freedom from self-incrimination, the due process, etc. For example, Section 12 of the Virginia constitution protects my expressive freedom (the freedom of the press and speech), while Section 16 protects the freedom to practice my religion (Constitution of Virginia, n.d.). The state government is obliged to protect these liberties.

Another method is through the rule of law. The state constitution typically protects people’s rights by developing human rights standards, supervisory mechanisms, and institutions. For example, section 8-A of the Virginia constitution outlines the rights of victims of crimes, including the right to be treated with respect, dignity, and fairness by all law officers in all stages of the criminal justice system (Constitution of Virginia, n.d.). When these rights are enshrined in the state constitution, it becomes the rule of law. Consequently, it becomes the duty of the state government to enforce these constitutional provisions. Alternatively, the government can enact laws to strengthen the protection of my rights. It also protects by rights by prohibiting the state government from creating laws that intrude upon these liberties, allowing me to enjoy my rights. By limiting the government’s power, the constitution helps to protect my rights.

References

Cornell Law School. (2018, May 17). 14th Amendment. Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv

Francis, R. W. (2014). Equal Rights Amendment. Equal Rights Amendment. https://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq

Constitution of Virginia. (n.d.). Virginia Law. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/constitutionfull/

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