Equal Protection of Laws

                The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States:  “… nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”  This provision states that every person – both citizen and non-citizen - living within the United States is entitled to the equal protection of the law.

                W. Cleon Skousen explained, “It is impossible to provide equal protection against the violation of the law, but once a law becomes operative as a result of a crime or a tort, the law should be equally administered regardless of race, sex, religion, citizenship, or national origin.”  (See The Making of America – The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p. 723.)

                David Smolen of The Heritage Foundation explained, “The Equal Protection Clause is one of the most litigated and significant provisions in contemporary constitutional law.  The meaning of the clause is bound up with the entire drama of the Civil War and Reconstruction and, in particular, with slavery and emancipation.  Thus the Equal Protection Clause can be understood only as an organic part of the Fourteenth Amendment and in the broader context of all the Reconstruction amendments.”  (See The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, pp. 398-399.)