Constitutional FAQ Answer #123

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Q123. “Are civil rights and civil liberties the
same thing?”

A. They are used interchangeably and often mean the same thing. Certainly
they do colloquially. More specifically, though, civil rights are thought to be
those actions of the government that are taken to protect civil liberties. Laws
that prevent discrimination on the basis of gender, for example, find a civil
right in the civil liberty of equal protection. It is a very subtle
difference.

Last Modified: 16 Aug 2010

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