# Section 5 of amendment 14 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 9, 2024, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/section-5-of-amendment-14/997338 "2024-02-09T01:29:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/section-5-of-amendment-14/997338/1 "2024-02-09T01:29:00Z")
I think this is different enough from the other threads related to the Insurrection section of amendment 14. Why is section 5 essentially being ignored in this case: Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. With this wording, it seems that the individual states don’t have this power, but congress does. It seems so obvious to me that I’m sure I’m missing something as to why this isn’t a key part of the conversation. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/section-5-of-amendment-14/997338/2 "2024-02-09T01:49:11Z")
Because mentioning it removes the fantasy that it would ever work at the state level. That, and the fact that people can’t (or won’t) read. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/section-5-of-amendment-14/997338/3 "2024-02-09T01:55:23Z")
The Supreme Court has fluctuated on the scope of section 5, which applies to all of the 14th Amendment, not just to section 3. However, it appears that section 5 does not exclude state enforcement of the 14th Amendment, and does not give Congress sole authority to enforce the terms of the 14th Amendment. From the 1873 _Slaughter-House Cases_: > [@](#): > > In the light of the history of these amendments, and the pervading purpose of them, which we have already discussed, it is not difficult to give a meaning to this clause. The existence of laws in the States where the newly emancipated negroes resided, which discriminated with gross injustice and hardship against them as a class, was the evil to be remedied by this clause, and by it such laws are forbidden. If, however, the States did not conform their laws to its requirements, then by the fifth section of the article of amendment Congress was authorized to enforce it by suitable legislation. By this approach, Congress only has power under s.5 if a state doesn’t respect the terms of the 14th Amendment. > **[Slaughter-House Cases](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughter-House_Cases)** > > The Slaughter-House Cases, 83 U.S. (16 Wall.) 36 (1873), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision which ruled that the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution only protects the legal rights that are associated with federal U.S. citizenship, not those that pertain to state citizenship. Though the decision in the Slaughter-House Cases minimized the impact of the Privileges or Immunities Clause on state law, the Supreme Court would later incorporate t... The Wikipedia article on the 14th Amendment goes on to say: > However, in _[City of Boerne v. Flores](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Boerne_v._Flores)_ (1997),[[259]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#cite_note-262) the Court narrowed Congress’s enforcement power, holding that Congress may not enact legislation under Section 5 that substantively defines or interprets Fourteenth Amendment rights.[[253](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#cite_note-McCulloch-theory-256) Assuming that’s a fair summary, it seems to undercut the argument that s.3 has no force or effect unless defined by Congressional legislation. Since s.5 applies to all of the 14th, it can’t have different scope depending on which section of the 14th is under consideration, I would think. If Congress can’t use s.5 to define terms under the civil rights sections of the 14th, seems difficult to see why Congress could use s.5 to define terms under s.3. > **[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution)** > > The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Usually considered one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law and was proposed in response to issues related to formerly enslaved Americans following the American Civil War. The amendment was bitterly contested, particularly by the states of the defeated Confederacy, which were forced t... ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/section-5-of-amendment-14/997338/4 "2024-02-09T12:30:13Z")
THanks for the extra information. So, if I understand correctly, The states can enforce this amendment, but if they don’t then Congress can step in. There is similar wording for a few other amendments as well. The assumption is that this thinking has been used for those amendments too. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/section-5-of-amendment-14/997338/5 "2024-02-09T14:25:21Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > With this wording, it seems that the individual states don’t have this power, but congress does. I think even Mitchell agreed that states have this power for state offices. He raised the point that states do not have this power for Federal offices. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/section-5-of-amendment-14/997338/6 "2024-02-09T16:08:33Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > The states can enforce this amendment, but if they don’t then Congress can step in. I think it reads more like, the states can enforce this amendment, but Congress can step in and over-ride state enforcement with federal enforcement. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/section-5-of-amendment-14/997338/7 "2024-03-04T17:24:07Z")
well…I think my question has been answered > **[Supreme Court rules Trump can stay on Colorado ballot in historic 14th...](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-supreme-court-rules-trump-historic-14th-amendment/story?id=107158454)** > > The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in Trump v. Anderson, a historic case challenging Donald Trump's ability to seek the Republican presidential nomination. Supreme court unanimously says “responsibility for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the States,”