Constitution Day 2026: Who are 'We the People'? Originalism's War with the Constitution of Equal Citizenship

The Constitution is the founding document for “we, the people” but who are “the people” the Constitution protects? In this talk, Professor Deborah Brake will explore the clash between the Constitution's promise of equal citizenship and the current Supreme Court majority’s originalist methodology for interpreting constitutional rights. Using several recent Supreme Court cases related to gender and gender equality, Professor Brake will show that the Court’s current version of originalism is antithetical to the principle of equal citizenship.