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- From: d000dlphi@leo.bsuvc.bsu.edu (David Speakman)
- Newsgroups: soc.motss
- Subject: Re: Colorado #2, Constitutionality
- Message-ID: <1992Dec31.015328.13338@bsu-ucs>
- Date: 31 Dec 92 06:53:28 GMT
- References: <C0311A.7BA@hpuerca.atl.hp.com> <1hssqnINN2gq@hp-col.col.hp.com> <1992Dec30.194421.27041@midway.uchicago.edu>
- Organization: Ball State University, Muncie, In - Univ. Computing Svc's
- Lines: 42
-
- In article <1992Dec30.194421.27041@midway.uchicago.edu>, lev0@kimbark.uchicago.edu (Ron Levy (Armchair)) writes:
- >
- >>Get real yourself and look at this from a practical standpoint, instead
- >>of an emotional, reactionary one. If #2 takes away rights
- >>guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, it will be ruled unconstitutional
- >>and be overturned.
- >
- > Wrongo. Hundreds if not thousands of state and local laws have taken
- > away rights clearly guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution,
- True, but they violate section one of the 14th Amendment to the US
- Constitution:
- "All persons...are citizens of the United States and of the State
- wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge
- the priviledges or immunities of citizens of the United States...nor denay to
- any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
-
- CO:2 violates this in spirit and in letter. It denies equal protection of the
- laws. It creates on group as pariah. It is also denying
-
- Congress has passed laws ensuring states do not abridge the rights of US
- citizens.
-
- >and they still
- > stand. Challenging something in the Supreme Court takes lots of time
- > to work up through the appellate process, lots of money for lots of
- > lawyers, and has absolutely no definable chance of success.
- >
- The Supreme court usually only hears test cases. FEDERAL courts usually hear
- these types of cases. A federal court will probably hear suits against this
- case and decide whether is stands or fails.
-
- The U.S. congress could strike the ammendment down.
-
- > One of the many reasons for this is that the Supreme Court doesn't
- > have to take any court case it doesn't want to. Therefore, if the
- > Supreme Court doesn't feel up to actually making a constitutional
- > ruling, they don't have to, and nothing at all happens.
-
- Actually if they do not hear a case, it send just as powerful a message -- they
- agree with the lower court ruling or that the case has no validity.
-
- David
-