Civil Rights Issues (AQA A-Level Politics): Revision Notes
Civil Rights Issues
Civil rights issues generate intense debate in both the USA and the UK. These debates involve fundamental questions about individual freedoms, equality, and the balance between competing rights. Understanding these issues is essential for comparing how the two countries approach civil liberties and civil rights protection.
Civil liberties during periods of national emergency
Both countries regularly debate how to balance civil liberties (fundamental freedoms protected from government interference) with the government's duty to protect citizens during times of crisis or emergency.
9/11 terror attacks and legislative responses
Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, both governments introduced controversial legislation to increase their powers and protect citizens from terrorist threats.
Legislative Responses to Terrorism:
In the USA:
- The USA Patriot Act 2001 allowed police and government agencies to carry out searches of homes, businesses, telephones and email without a court order
- This represented a significant expansion of government surveillance powers
In the UK:
- The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 introduced government control orders on terrorist suspects
- These orders could restrict individuals' movements and activities without criminal conviction
- The Act was later repealed in 2011
Ideological complexities
Debates about civil liberties do not neatly follow traditional ideological lines:
- In the UK, the Prevention of Terrorism Act was introduced by Labour prime minister Tony Blair
- In the USA, the Patriot Act was introduced by Republican president George W. Bush
- Both leaders argued these measures were necessary to protect the public
However, there are some patterns:
- In the USA, Democrats generally support civil liberties over government control
- Libertarians from both parties also defend civil liberties
- Republican senator Rand Paul held a 13-hour filibuster in 2013 to challenge Democrat president Barack Obama's use of drone strikes
Constitutional Protection Differences:
The UK's flexible constitution means an illiberal government with a parliamentary majority could remove liberties and rights far more easily than an equivalent US government could, where rights are entrenched in the Constitution.
Women's rights
Historically, both countries have experienced similar debates over women's suffrage, feminism, equality and anti-discrimination. More recently, the #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns have focused attention on sexual harassment and assault in both countries.
The abortion debate
The abortion debate represents the sharpest difference between the two countries on women's rights.
In the UK:
- Abortion has been legal in most of the UK since Parliament passed the Abortion Act 1967
- None of the main political parties want to remove women's right to abortion
- The debate is relatively settled, except in Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland had more intense opposition from pro-life religious leaders and politicians
- Abortion was finally legalised in Northern Ireland in 2019
In the USA:
- Abortion has been one of the most contentious and divisive issues since it was legalised by Roe v Wade (1973)
- It is a partisan issue: most Republicans are pro-life, while most Democrats are pro-choice
- The debate is particularly fierce due to America's highly religious society
- Around 56% of Americans consider themselves religious, compared to just 30% of British people
- The Supreme Court has played a central role in determining abortion rights
Conflicting Rights in the Abortion Debate:
The 'right to life' movement supports the right to 'personhood' of the unborn foetus or embryo, which directly contradicts the right of a woman to have an abortion. This demonstrates how protecting the civil rights of one group can mean limiting the rights of another.
Race
Both the USA and the UK have had long-term debates about the rights of ethnic minorities. Black people and many other minority ethnic groups face a range of inequalities, prejudices and disadvantages.
Historical context and key differences
USA:
- Debates over civil rights and race have been far more central to US politics
- History of segregation and racial discrimination
- Major civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s
- Affirmative action policies were developed to address socio-economic disadvantage faced by African-Americans and other minority ethnic groups
UK:
- Had its own civil rights campaign against racial discrimination
- No policy of formal segregation, although racism was widespread and underpinned the British Empire
- The Bristol Bus Boycott (1963) was a significant protest against racial discrimination
- The UK civil rights movement successfully convinced Parliament to pass the Race Relations Act 1965, which banned discrimination on the grounds of race
- Affirmative action policies do not exist in the UK
- Top universities are regularly criticised for not admitting enough students from certain minority ethnic communities
Black Lives Matter and police violence
The Black Lives Matter campaign has highlighted the unprovoked police violence that black people regularly face.
Comparing police violence:
- Three people were killed by police in the UK in 2019
- 1,004 people were killed by police in the USA in 2019
- UK police are usually unarmed, which contributes to lower fatalities
- Racial discrimination by police has had a lower profile in the UK
Historical issues with UK policing
'Sus' laws (1970s):
- Allowed police to stop, search and arrest anyone considered to be loitering with intent to commit an offence
- Disproportionately applied to young black men
- Protests and riots in 1981 spread to many UK cities
- Led to the 'sus' laws being repealed
Stephen Lawrence case (1993):
The murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence exposed institutional racism in the Metropolitan Police Force. Police failures in investigating his murder became a landmark case.
Mark Duggan case (2011):
- UK police shot dead 29-year-old Mark Duggan in London
- Sparked a week of riots and looting in response
- Resulted in over a thousand criminal charges and more than £200 million of property damage
- Meaningful public debate on police attitudes was side-lined by the violence
Current racial disparities in the UK
Police interactions:
- Black men are nine times more likely than white men to be stopped and searched by police
- Black men are three times more likely to be tasered
Prison population:
- Disproportionately high number of prisoners from minority ethnic groups
Education:
- Pupils of black Caribbean ethnicity or mixed race white and black Caribbean ethnicity are three times more likely to be permanently excluded from school than their peers of white British ethnicity
COVID-19 pandemic:
- Debate about the extent to which structural racism (racism embedded in society's structures and systems) could explain higher death rates of people from minority ethnic groups
2020 Black Lives Matter protests in the UK
The 2020 Black Lives Matter protests put structural and institutional racism on the UK's political agenda:
- Inspired by protests in the USA
- Thousands of protesters, including actor John Boyega, ignored lockdown restrictions across the UK
- Triggered national debate about how black history and culture is taught in schools
- Raised questions about whether statues of historical figures with racist backgrounds should remain
The rights of immigrants
Immigration debates have focused on different issues in each country.
USA focus: illegal immigrants
Key issues:
- Estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the USA
- Particular focus on those who arrived as children
Trump administration policies:
- Policy of separating children of illegal immigrants from their parents
- Modified after public outcry, but children continued to be held in detention centres
- Many remained separated from their parents
- At least seven child migrants died in US government custody from 2018 to 2019
DACA programme:
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was an Obama-era programme
- Donald Trump attempted to end DACA
- The Supreme Court overruled this attempt in June 2020
- Around 650,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the USA as children before 2007 can remain free to work without fear of deportation
UK focus: immigrant rights and Brexit
Key debates:
- Whether immigrants should have equal rights to use the National Health Service
- Access to council housing
- Whether deporting immigrants who commit a crime constitutes a breach of their human rights under the HRA (Human Rights Act)
- Public concern about immigration was a major cause of the UK public's decision to leave the EU in 2016
The rights of LGBTQ+ people
Both countries have seen significant progress in LGBTQ+ rights, though debates continue.
Same-sex marriage
There was heated debate in both countries prior to legalisation:
- UK: legalised in 2013
- USA: legalised in 2015
Recent debates
Common issues in both countries:
- The right of religious people to withhold services from LGBTQ+ customers
- Whether school pupils should learn about LGBTQ+ issues
Transgender rights
USA developments:
- Trump introduced a ban on transgender people in the military
- Removed Obama-era healthcare protections for transgender people
- However, in June 2020, the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (2020) that employers could not sack workers for being transgender
- This decision went against the wishes of the US government
UK developments:
- In 2020, Johnson's government cancelled plans to make legal gender change easier
Gun rights
The debate over Second Amendment rights is one of the most prominent issues in US politics, whereas gun control is almost universally accepted in the UK. This represents one of the starkest differences between the two countries on civil rights issues.
Religious groups
Religious groups in both countries have argued that anti-discrimination legislation can infringe on their right to practise their religion.
The baker cases
Two similar cases demonstrate how religious freedom can conflict with other civil rights:
UK case:
- Lee v Ashers Bakery Company Ltd (2018)
- The UK Supreme Court gave Christian bakers the right not to make a cake promoting same-sex marriage
USA case:
- Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)
- The US Supreme Court gave Christian bakers the right not to make a cake promoting same-sex marriage
Key Principle - Conflicting Civil Rights:
Civil rights and liberties can conflict. In these cases, the civil rights of gay people to buy a cake with their chosen message came into conflict with the freedom of Christian bakers to refuse to make a cake for a cause incompatible with their religious beliefs.
Key Points to Remember:
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Civil liberties during emergencies: Both countries passed controversial anti-terrorism legislation after 9/11 (USA Patriot Act 2001 and Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005), sparking ongoing debates about balancing security with individual freedoms.
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Abortion debate differences: Abortion is relatively uncontroversial in the UK since the Abortion Act 1967, but remains one of the most divisive partisan issues in the USA since Roe v Wade (1973), largely due to America's more religious society.
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Race and policing: While the USA has more central debates due to its segregation history, the UK faces significant issues including racial disparities in police stops (black men are nine times more likely to be stopped and searched), school exclusions, and institutional racism highlighted by cases like Stephen Lawrence and Mark Duggan.
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Immigration focuses differ: USA debates centre on illegal immigration and DACA, whilst UK debates focus on immigrant access to public services and Brexit-related immigration concerns.
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Conflicting rights: Civil rights often conflict with each other – protecting one group's rights can limit another's, as seen in the abortion debate (right to life vs right to choose) and religious freedom cases (religious belief vs LGBTQ+ equality).