American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

THE POLICY-MAKING PROCESS AND CIVIL RIGHTS| 413

stadiums, and many other changes that provide the disabled an equal opportunity
to participate more fully in society. The Supreme Court narrowed the law’s scope in
2001 when it ruled that the law did not apply to state employees.^56
Congress’s track record in protecting gay rights is not as strong. In fact, most
of the steps taken by Congress have been to restrict gay rights. In 1996 Congress
reacted to the possibility that some liberal states would allow same-sex marriage
by passing the Defense of Marriage Act. Its concern was rooted in the “full faith
and credit clause” of the Constitution, which says that all states have to respect
the laws of other states. Thus, if same-sex marriages were allowed in one state, all
other states would have to recognize that marriage as legal if the couple were to
move to another state.
More recently, Congress has proposed an amendment that would ban same-sex
marriage. President George W. Bush endorsed the amendment, and Democrats
have criticized it as a divisive gimmick to appeal to the conservative base of the
Republican Party. President Obama opposes the amendment, and while the Dem-
ocrats are in control of the Senate, any action on the amendment is unlikely.
In a possible change of course, in 2009 Congress passed the Matthew Shepard
and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This legislation expanded the
hate crime laws based on race, color, religion, or national origin to include attacks
based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or mental or physical disability. The
law also lifted a requirement that a victim had to be attacked while engaged in

Note: Percentages do not sum to 100 because complaints may be fi led in more than one category.
Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Charge Statistics, http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/
enforcement/charges.cfm (accessed 11/3/12).

DISCRIMINATION CASES IN THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT

OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, 2009

Discrimination based on race and on sex are the types that are most frequently
reported, but there is a signifi cant amount of discrimination based on age and
disability as well. What types of discrimination do you think would be most likely to go
unreported?

FIGURE » 13.4

5

Race

33,579

28,028

22,778 21,451

11,134

3,386

942

Sex Age Disability National

origin

Religion Equal pay

10

15

20

25

40%

30

35

Percentage of charges field