Understanding Your Civil Rights

Civil rights are about your rights to social and political equality and freedom. This is about your education, housing, employment, and finances. When you feel as though someone has discriminated against because of your race, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or because you’re disabled it’s important for you to have someone defend your legal rights in this regard.

The Difference Between Civil Liberties and Rights

Thanks to the Bill of Rights and Constitution you have the right to certain, broad-based freedoms. These are known as your civil liberties. They include your right to vote, get married, have privacy, and speak with freedom. This is different from your rights, which guarantee you’re treated equally — like everyone else.

Your rights originate from both the federal and the local government. They’re watched over by laws and decisions the federal court makes and from laws passed by your state. What the state says typically aligns with what the federal government says though. As such, laws passed by the federal government and the laws passed by states are quite similar.

Laws Passed Then and Now

In the past, one of the most historical rights was the right to be treated equally. This was a huge fight by the African-American community. Today, this is a guaranteed right, but one that sometimes is still broken.

Today, the LGBT community is waging a similar fight. They’re demanding that people not discriminate against them on the basis of their sexual orientation. Many people are fighting to have legislations passed that would make it illegal for people to publicly or privately discriminate against someone based on their sexual orientation.

Conclusion

The right to fair treatment is deep-rooted and hard-fought for in the United States throughout history and even today. There are lawyers who do nothing but fight for people’s civil rights. They serve as outreach coordinators in this regard. If and when you ever feel as though someone is threatening or taking away your rights, it’s important to seek out their help because this type of discrimination is illegal in the United States and has been for a long time now.