Comparing The Fourteenth Amendment To The United States Constitution: The Citizenship Clause
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution contains the Citizenship Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause. The Citizenship Clause maintains the citizenship of individuals who were born or naturalized in the United States. The Due Process Clause maintains that a state is prohibited from denying an individual of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” The Equal Protection Clause prohibits a state from denying an individual “within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” As it seeks to safeguard the liberties of citizens, the Fourteenth Amendment has been utilized to prevent discrimination against individuals based upon gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, etc. since