Equal Protection

http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2011/09/16/ginsburg-rebuts-scalia-on-sex-bias/


The fourteenth amendment guarantees all the people, equal protection. In the amendment, the Equal Protection Clause is established. The Equal Protection Clause requires each state to provide equal protection under law to all the people. Supreme Court rules that sex discrimination is against and violates the Equal Protection Clause.
Justice Antonin Scalia had declared that the Constitution — as properly interpreted — doesn’t prohibit sex discrimination and agrees with the laws about the woman not serving.
In 1960 Earl Warren court had held a state law excusing all women from jury service, with the exception of volunteering. In Florida there was a case held when a woman murdered her abusive husband and was faced with second degree murder convicted by an all-male jury. The court found nothing in difference that violated the equal protection law! A justice John Marshall Harlan says, “Despite the enlightened emancipation of women from the restrictions and protections of bygone years…woman is still regarded as the center of home and family life,” which excuses females from the hassle of jury service. This law was never found to be against the Equal Protection Law.
“Everyone understood by the ’50s and ’60s that race discrimination was a bad thing, but many thought that gender discrimination operated benignly in the woman’s favor,” says a 78 year-old female judge against the statement.
In the end Ginsburg speaks, “The idea was to get rid of all overt gender classifications,” Ginsburg said. “What we wanted was to open all doors for men and for women.”
Scalia was so wrong in this case, discrimination woman and assuming that they have nothing better to do then play the “at-home role” violates the fourteen amendments majorly. The clause says that anyone living under jurisdiction has the same rights and laws as everyone else. This means, one cannot be discriminated against for race of in this case, gender. Several cases have been in session for violating the fourteenth amendment such as 1880 Strauder vs. West Virginia, 2000 Bush vs. Gore and the case above.