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<blockquote data-quote="bbsam" data-source="post: 5312117" data-attributes="member: 22662">My limited, off the top of my head understanding is, that the&nbsp; 14th Amendment originally was ratified in order to state and protect the fact that newly freed slaves would be afforded the same rights as all freeborn people of the United States.&nbsp; That being born with dark skin and having biological roots stemming from the African continent did not subjugate people to livestock status.&nbsp; The laws of the land would not (and could not) be written in such a way as to treat them as “less than”.&nbsp; As citizens, they would have exactly the same rights and responsibilities as all citizens.&nbsp; It’s really a simple pronouncement but one that is demonstrably powerful.&nbsp; It’s the United States emphatically putting forth that slavery would no longer be a “states rights” issue.&nbsp; And as we’ve seen over the last hundred years or so, the same spirit has been called upon in the courts to reaffirm the equality of other groups in the eyes of the law.&nbsp; It is the basis of the “protected classes”.&nbsp; [ATTACH=full]389870[/ATTACH]Although it’s been argued many times that the 14th amendment “creates rights where the constitution doesn’t give them”, to me that misses the foundation of America, it’s founding, and it’s progressive path better government.&nbsp; The ratification of the 14th amendment should have put to bed forever some of the mindsets we see boldly stated today:&nbsp; that the US is a Christian nation.&nbsp; that white Europeans built this country.&nbsp; that women make less money because their work is worth less.&nbsp; On and on it goes.In short, the equal protection clause states in no uncertain terms that such statements are bull<img src="/community/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/group1/censored2.gif"&nbsp; class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":censored2:" title="Censored2&nbsp; &nbsp; :censored2:" data-shortname=":censored2:" /> and the federal government will protect the rights of all individuals.&nbsp; In cases where it is believed that a state acts unlawfully against an individual or a group under state law, the federal government can and does intervene to “protect the civil rights” of the person or persons.&nbsp; As I said, very simple concept but powerful in its fundamental nature.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="bbsam, post: 5312117, member: 22662"] My limited, off the top of my head understanding is, that the 14th Amendment originally was ratified in order to state and protect the fact that newly freed slaves would be afforded the same rights as all freeborn people of the United States. That being born with dark skin and having biological roots stemming from the African continent did not subjugate people to livestock status. The laws of the land would not (and could not) be written in such a way as to treat them as “less than”. As citizens, they would have exactly the same rights and responsibilities as all citizens. It’s really a simple pronouncement but one that is demonstrably powerful. It’s the United States emphatically putting forth that slavery would no longer be a “states rights” issue. And as we’ve seen over the last hundred years or so, the same spirit has been called upon in the courts to reaffirm the equality of other groups in the eyes of the law. It is the basis of the “protected classes”. [ATTACH type="full"]389870[/ATTACH] Although it’s been argued many times that the 14th amendment “creates rights where the constitution doesn’t give them”, to me that misses the foundation of America, it’s founding, and it’s progressive path better government. The ratification of the 14th amendment should have put to bed forever some of the mindsets we see boldly stated today: that the US is a Christian nation. that white Europeans built this country. that women make less money because their work is worth less. On and on it goes. In short, the equal protection clause states in no uncertain terms that such statements are bull:censored: and the federal government will protect the rights of all individuals. In cases where it is believed that a state acts unlawfully against an individual or a group under state law, the federal government can and does intervene to “protect the civil rights” of the person or persons. As I said, very simple concept but powerful in its fundamental nature. [/QUOTE]

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