The Challenges of Ensuring EqualityBy: Becca W, Carolyn R, Melina M, Sage G, Lindsay G,

Stephanie S, Cory E, and Kevin F

Affirmative Action

• Problemo The government is giving preference indirectly for minorities, women, and the physically

challenged to make up for past discrimination.

• Regents of the university of California v. Bakke o 1978 – The supreme court ruled that colleges and universities could take race

into account when admitting students as long as they did not use two quota system. However in 1995 the university of California’s board of Regents voted to end the use of race in admission policy.

• Current Debateo Minorities and women have been handicapped by past discrimination so

they're far from equal to white males. It is also argued that with increasing minorities and women their qualifications should be judged for a job, school application or promotion. Others say that any discrimination on race or gender is wrong

Discrimination Against Women

• Problemo Women still have serious obstacles to an equal job opportunity. But, they

are still passed over for jobs and promotions that they could be qualified for and are paid less than men are for the equal amount of work.

o They could be sexually harasses on the job and disadvantaged in multiple ways not just on their job abilities or their qualifications but that they are just FEMALE.

• Government Stanceo The government has been very involved with preventing gender

discrimination in the workplace.

o The law that covers the discrimination is the Civil Rights Act of 1994, which strongly doesn't allow forms of discrimination of the basis of race, color, religion, sex or, national origin in most aspects of the employment.

Continued...

PAST GOV'T ACTIONS ON THE ISSUE!Reed v. Reed Court Decision:

• 1971 the Supreme Court ruled that discrimination against women was unconstitutional.

• The court ruled that a law that immediately preferred a father over a mother as executor of a son's estate violated the equal protection of the 14th Amendment.

• "To give a mandatory preference to members of either sex other members of the other is to make the very kind of arbitrary legislative choice to forbidden by the Equal Protection Clause", stated by Chief Justice Warren Burger.o He wanted to make his statement clear that everyone should be equal and

follow the Equal Protection Clause to make the the U.S equal.

Military Draft

• Women must meet the combat standards to even apply to the draft.• They have been getting a more important roles in having better armed forces.• The BIG debate is on if women should be allowed in the draft.• 1 out of 10 are pregnant while in the war and its unintentional for them to get

pregnant.

Discrimination Against Women• The Most Current Debate

o Justice Scalia Mouths Off on Sex Discrimination- A speech he gave 2010, he made a statement about how 4 years ago since he answered a reporter's question

about religion cases with a hand gesture and he said it was " obscenity". A female spokeswoman insisted that the gesture was"dismissive, but obscene".

After, he called his refusal to rescue him for a case about Vice President Dick, he has had an energy task force to do something bof and he felt so proud of himself.

He has very strong feelings on the equal rights for women and he focuses on the facts that the 14th Amendment was drafted after the Civil War and he stated" Nobody thought it was directed against sex discrimination".

• Opinion o The positive outlooks on this issue is that, the problem has weaken from over the many years and

women can become whatever they would desire on being. But they have a less chance of promotions and have less about of pay.

o Also, the fact that there is a problem on the issue is crazy because there's laws against discrimination and our standing on the issue is against it.

Because women are just amount as equal as the men and need the same equal rights. And their should be no discrimination on gender or anything of that matter.

Continued...

• Reverse Discriminationo Is an unfair treatment of members of majority groups resulting from

preferential policies.

• Opiniono For:

Affirmative action leads to reverse discrimination

Lower standards of accountability

Demeans true minority achievements

o Against: It is not needed

Not working

Not fair to minorities

Reverse racism

quotas

Citizens Right To Know

• Issue:o Not telling the people what the gov't is doing at all times.

• Government Stanceo You don't need to know what we are doing at all times if it is not for your own

good.

• Freedom of Information Acto This states that all federal agencies must lets the people see public records on

request.

o Exemptions include national defense materials, confidential personnel, financial data and law enforcements.

o People can sue the govt if they are denied access to materials.

Continue...

• The Sunshine Acto Before 1976 gov't can have meetings not known to the public.

o After this act passed it says the gov't must tell the people when they are having a meeting.

o A transcript must be made if the gov't is having a secret meeting.

• Current Debate

• Opiniono In my opinion if it has nothing to do with the citizens then they don't need to tell

the public.

Citizens Right to Privacy

• The Constitution doesn't protect the right to privacy.

• The U.S. Constitution contains no expressed right to privacy

• The 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th amendments, and the Bill of Rights were affected.

• The most current debate is whether or not the Constitution protects citizens rights to privacy. Also that everyone has equal rights to privacy.

Privacy Continued...

• Patriot Act- o Goals- strengthen domestic security and

broaden the powers of law-enforced agencies

o Records your phone calls and texts to check for key words

• Griswold v. Connecticut-o Griswold was fined $100 for providing illegal

contraception. the encouragement or use of birth control was banned. She appealed to the Supreme Court and they ruled 7-2 because the law violated the "right to marital privacy"

Privacy Opinion

• Us as citizens should have the right to privacy. Everyone should be able to do thing in their own house and out in public without being watched. The people that should have privacy the most are celebrities. Many of them have been injured or killed because of the lack of privacy.

Questions 1 and 2

Issue:• Not telling the people

what the gov’t is doing at all times.

Gov’t Stance:• You don’t need to

know what we are doing at all times if it is not for your own good.

Question 3

Freedom of Information Act

• This states that all federal agencies must lets the people see public records on request.

• Exemptions include national defense materials, confidential personnel, financial data and law enforcements.

• People can sue the gov’t if they are denied access to materials.

The Sunshine Act

• Before 1976 gov’t can have meetings not known to the public.

• After this act passed it says the gov’t must tell the people when they are having a meeting.

• A transcript must be made if the gov’t is having a secret meeting.

Questions 4 and 5

Current debate• Wire tapping, search

and seizure, and rights to the people.

Opinion• In my opinion if it has

nothing to do with the your own good then they don’t need to tell the public.