Civil rights

The term civil rights refers to the fact that the state has a role in ensuring all citizens have equal protection under the law and equal opportunity to exercise the privileges of citizenship regardless of race, religion, sex, or other characteristics unrelated to the worth of the individual. Civil rights are, therefore, obligations imposed upon government to promote equality.

More specifically, civil rights are the rights to personal liberty guaranteed to all U.S. citizens by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and by acts of Congress. Generally, the term civil rights involves positive (or affirmative) government action, while the term civil liberties involves restrictions on government.