Brooke Weissler Does the 14th Amendment still protect everyone? Use evidence from Sean Bell article or any personal experience. 5 paragraph persuasive essay. 14th Amendment Persuasive Essay The 14th Amendment was one of the reconstruction amendments. The other two were the 13th and 15th. The 14th Amendment is considered one of the most significant changes to the Constitution since the Bill of Rights. It provides Due Process and equal protection for all citizens. It was intended to secure freed slaves’ rights, but it also had to do with the Chinese-American immigrants and other nationalities that worked on the railroad expansion.
This Amendment, however, doesn’t still protect everyone. Unfortunately, many people judge others based on their race. They assume that because someone is Hispanic or black, they are automatically up to no good. It is usually known as racial profiling. Policemen even judge others based on their race. In 2006, detectives were casing out Club Kalua. That club had reports of prostitution, under-aged drinking, and weapons complaints. One more violation would cause the club to close down. They were looking for another violation to finally close it down.
Sean Belle and his friends were having a bachelor party at the club to celebrate his upcoming wedding. They left the club a little after 4 AM and were followed by detectives who were looking to make arrests. A detective said that he overheard one of them saying that he was going to the car to get a gun. This can’t be proven to be true. A few moments later, after the detectives said that Sean Bell tried to run them down, the police fired 50 shots. Sean Bell was killed and his two friends were seriously wounded. No guns were found in the car.
Would the police have followed Sean Bell and friends to the car if they were white? This case is reminiscent to the Amadou Diallo case where an unarmed African immigrant was shot 41 times and killed. Police said that he was reaching for a gun, but in reality, he only had a telephone. The assumption was based on his race. As one can clearly see, the 14th Amendment doesn’t still protect everyone, especially if you are a minority. Police still “stop and frisk” people just because of who they are. Can there ever be equal protection, as the 14th Amendment promises, if there is racial profiling?
