Equality and Opportunity

It is immoral and unjust to treat individuals differently on the basis of race. Government has a constitutional duty to treat all persons equally under the law. PLF opposes all forms of racial discrimination by government, both overt and covert.

Gender quotas treat people as statistics rather than as individuals. Sex-based civil rights laws like Title IX are abused to permit or require sex-based discrimination. No one should be barred from an opportunity because of the government’s sex-based discrimination.

Government power should never be used to pick winners and losers in the marketplace. Yet the government frequently enacts regulations that throttle the opportunities of some businesses and entrepreneurs to protect others from honest competition. Courts should invalidate laws that serve constitutionally illegitimate protectionist ends.

Nearly one in four Americans must get an occupational license—permission from the government—just to do their jobs. The Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment protects the right to earn a living against unfair and burdensome regulations that separate people from opportunity.

Across the country, state and local governments are choosing members of boards and commissions on the basis of race and sex. But in a just society, individuals should be judged on their character, qualifications, and achievements, not on immutable characteristics they cannot control.