Reply #22: If due process is observed

[Dogtown]

and it can be proved, without violating their civil rights, they can be punished. Once it is proven, legally, that they have violated the law, they are subject to the penalty for the violation.

Just like *any* convicted person. Or are you trying to suggest that every prisoner in the United States penal system is a victim of civil rights abuse, since they've been deprived of their freedom?

This really isn't all that convoluted.


The quotation you offered is one sentence, so I don't know what "first sentence was thrown in for fun". The various clauses within that sentence are not mutually exclusive, they pertain to different aspects of the question, "can States pass laws that abrogate individual rights?" The answer provided by the crafters of the amendment is clearly "No." There follows specific descriptions to avoid confusion and to negate any possible attempt to exclude classes of people. In this example, the rights of "illegal" aliens cannot be abridged.

"Illegal immigration" was not a button-issue when this amendment was ratified, rather, a different class of people was being disenfranchised. The writers clearly wanted to be as clear as possible, to protect future "separate classes" from discrimination; hence, "any person".

Elegantly written, that 14th Amendment.