Southern regional attorney declares race-based state laws unconstitutional
Southern regional attorney declares race-based state laws unconstitutional
The attorney general of a southern coastal state issued an opinion declaring that regional laws calling for race-based discrimination are unconstitutional and will not be enforced by his office, according to official statements.
“Racial discrimination is wrong. It is also unconstitutional. Yet [the state] maintains several laws on its books that promote and require discrimination on its face,” the official asserted in the legal opinion, reportedly released Monday.
The attorney general, James Uthemeier, argued that laws mandating discrimination based on race through preferences to certain racial groups, race-based classifications, or racial quotas violate both federal constitutional protections and the state’s own constitutional provisions.
“As Attorney General, I and my office must honor the U.S. and [state] Constitutions’ guarantee of equal protection under the law,” he noted in the document. “Because enforcing and obeying these discriminatory laws would violate those bedrock legal guarantees, those laws are unconstitutional.”
The timing of the announcement coincided with the federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968, observers noted.
Uthemeier was appointed to serve as the state’s top legal official last year by the regional governor, who had previously employed him as chief of staff. The appointment reflects the continuing influence of the governing administration’s approach to civil rights legislation in the region.
Critics of such positions argue that the stance represents a rollback of decades of civil rights protections, while supporters contend it ensures equal treatment under the law. The announcement comes as the nation grapples with ongoing debates over the role of race in government policy and legal frameworks.
The attorney general’s office indicated it would not defend or enforce what it termed “discriminatory provisions” in existing state law, marking a significant shift in the region’s legal enforcement approach.