Congress shall have the power to enforce by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this Amendment. This sentence was seen by some as a way to inflame anti-federal feeling but thought by others as necessary to enable Congress to enact legislation. From time to time there is a dispute as to whether a law or action is consistent with principles outlined in the Constitution. The first type of action is when a state legislature or other governing body passes a law or policy, and the new law classifies people into groups. It may be challenged by a person within that group receiving unequal treatment as an unconstitutional violation of equal protection of the law in a lower court such as a federal district court or state court.
Most laws generally involve different treatment of persons.
This statement will be discussed in further detail below. If the lower court permitted the classification and discrimination to continue, the decision could be appealed to an appeals court. When it reaches the U.S. Supreme Court upon further appeal, the nine justices will use the requirements outlined in the Constitution to guide them in determining violations of equal protection or infringements upon fundamental rights. The main problem with this low level of scrutiny is that it is very easy for the legislatures to justify that a law is reasonably related to obtaining the government's goal of the statute, and the courts will give the legislatures great latitude in supplying those reasons. Narrowly tailored means that the law affects the smallest number of people necessary to achieve the government's compelling goal.