What Is Equal Protection? 

After the American Civil War, the U.S. Constitution was amended to prohibit slavery and to guarantee that no state may deny the equal protection of the law on the basis of race and similar immutable traits. The Supreme Court later ruled that the same guarantee applies to the federal government. 

The guarantee of equal protection of the law is an individual right requiring that the government provide equal treatment of all individuals based on race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, and religion. It is not a group right or a guarantee of equal outcomes; the only way for government to ensure equal group outcomes (or group “equity”) is to intentionally discriminate among individuals to reach that result.

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In short, no government may treat people differently, by providing either a benefit or a burden, based on individuals’ race, ethnicity, gender, or religion. CIR’s Equal Protection cases challenge government policies that sort people into preferred and disfavored groups when awarding educational opportunities, employment, public benefits, or government contracts.  

And we demand that courts enforce a simple rule: government must treat every person as an individual without regard to group membership. 

Why This Still Matters 

The temptation to classify, rank, and divide people by identity continues to this day.  

America’s history of ugly, dehumanizing government discrimination didn’t end with the adoption of the Civil War amendments. The civil rights struggle of 1950s, 1960s, and beyond was necessary to end atrocious Jim Crow policies and move closer to the equal protection ideal in the Declaration of Independence. 

And yet, as America moved to dismantle Jim Crow laws and practices, well-meaning but mistaken advocates clamored for government-directed racial, ethnic, and gender preferences as a means of redressing past wrongs and providing group “equity.”  

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Such government-enforced group preferences are not only unlawful, they are also illogical and profoundly counterproductive. Because equality is an individual right, the Constitution prohibits governments from discriminating against specific individuals to address societal discrimination. And while the personal pursuit of diversity and inclusion are admirable, coerced forms of diversity and inclusion by government are counterproductive.  

Government discrimination does not become lawful or moral because it is described as remedial, equitable, or well-intentioned. When public officials distribute opportunities and burdens by race, they divide citizens by ancestry and deny the Constitution’s promise of equal treatment under law.  

America still suffers from racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination, which must be rooted out. But the only way to end government discrimination is to end it for all. 

CIR has a long history shaping landmark rulings combatting government-based racial preferences, such as Gratz v. Bollinger, Grutter v. Bollinger, and Hopwood v. Texas.