Main Content
Gender
Many Americans would likely be surprised by how infrequently the Court looks at constitutional issues related to gender. While some have pointed to the exclusion of female justices on the Court, even with increased female membership, the last landmark ruling relating explicitly to gender (VMI) was written by Justice Ginsburg in 1996. Additionally, many of the significant gender cases from the 70s and early 1980s involved securing equal rights for males under certain circumstances.
Many on the left point to the lack of court involvement as demonstrating the necessity of additional civil rights legislation or constitutional amendment (such as the Equal Rights Amendment). Many on the right argue that women are a protected class under the Fourteenth Amendment and therefore it is unnecessary to address women as a separate class of individuals. Regardless of whatever side you take, the debate is unlikely to go away or subside in the coming years.
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