The Equal Protection Clause
The equal protection clause limits American governments by ensuring that they do not discriminate against people based on their race, national origin, gender or other status. In the case of Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court struck down a law prohibiting state funding for children of illegal immigrants. The court stated, “The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is not confined to the protection of citizens.” Governments cannot discriminate, even if the people in question are not citizens.
However, the equal protection clause does only assert that, “no state shall…” As a result of this wording, the national government is not as rigorously limited by this clause. Yet, as the Supreme Court noted in the case Bolling v Sharpe, “Though the Fifth Amendment does not contain an equal protection clause, as does the Fourteenth Amendment which applies only to the States, the concepts of equal protection and due process are not mutually exclusive.” Therefore, in cases involving the national government, the equal protection clause does apply, just on the grounds of the Fifth Amendment.
Private organizations are similarly not explicitly limited by the equal protection clause. As the Court stated in Burton v Wilmington Parking Authority, “private conduct abridging individual rights does no violence to the Equal Protection Clause unless…the State…has been found to have become involved in it.”. In the case Boy Scouts of America v Dale, the Supreme Court permitted the Boy Scouts to exclude James Dale from their organization on the grounds of his sexual orientation. This case was decided on the grounds of the First Amendment, as he Court determined that the inclusion of Dale in this organization would affect the organization’s right to freedom of speech and association. The Court stated, “…the Boy Scouts is an expressive association and that the forced inclusion of Dale would significantly affect its expression...” Private organizations are typically protected under
However, the equal protection clause does only assert that, “no state shall…” As a result of this wording, the national government is not as rigorously limited by this clause. Yet, as the Supreme Court noted in the case Bolling v Sharpe, “Though the Fifth Amendment does not contain an equal protection clause, as does the Fourteenth Amendment which applies only to the States, the concepts of equal protection and due process are not mutually exclusive.” Therefore, in cases involving the national government, the equal protection clause does apply, just on the grounds of the Fifth Amendment.
Private organizations are similarly not explicitly limited by the equal protection clause. As the Court stated in Burton v Wilmington Parking Authority, “private conduct abridging individual rights does no violence to the Equal Protection Clause unless…the State…has been found to have become involved in it.”. In the case Boy Scouts of America v Dale, the Supreme Court permitted the Boy Scouts to exclude James Dale from their organization on the grounds of his sexual orientation. This case was decided on the grounds of the First Amendment, as he Court determined that the inclusion of Dale in this organization would affect the organization’s right to freedom of speech and association. The Court stated, “…the Boy Scouts is an expressive association and that the forced inclusion of Dale would significantly affect its expression...” Private organizations are typically protected under