Gays Excluded from 14th Amendment Protections, Argue Chicago Lawyers
The city of Chicago has determined an interesting, if potentially offensive, strategy in seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a gay man allegedly beaten by city police: claiming that GLBT people are not included under the guarantees of the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment.
The Advocate reported today that Chicago’s claim that GLBT citizens are exempt from the so-called equal protection clause follows a suit brought against the city by Alexander Ruppert, who was allegedly beaten by police in March 2006.
According to an article in the Chicago Free Press, Ruppert was expelled from a bar and then arrested by Chicago police officers who then, according to Ruppert, pulled their cruiser over, forcibly removed Ruppert from their vehicle, and proceeded to assault him while uttering homophobic slurs, The Advocate reported.
Ruppert was then taken to the hospital, where he received 16 stitches in the area of his eye.
The text of the fourteenth amendment speaks of guarantees concerning individuals, rather than groups, but nonetheless attorneys for the city have moved to have Ruppert’s lawsuit thrown out on the grounds that GLBT people are not included in the constitutional guarantee.
The fourteenth amendment states that, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States: nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Michael Oppenheimer, attorney for Ruppert, requested an extension in order to mount a counter-argument. The hearing will resume September 11.
Said Oppenheimer, "When we filed the equal protection count, we knew the federal government was behind the curve in recognizing that the equal protection clause should cover sexual orientation."
But, added Oppenheimer, "We expected more from the city of Chicago."
