I consider myself a feminist. Not the radical, bra burning, man hating variety, but have lived with gender discrimination in the 70s and 80s and know how far we have progressed. I live a fairly traditional life except my career choice has been decidely in an area with more men then women but it has changed over time. As a result, I have been subjected to sexual discrimination; I never filed any claims because it was just accepted that this was the way things were. I, by choice, bear the brunt of child rearing and home responsibilities but it is one of my choices, not the only one. My point is, I get the importance of equal protection under the law, probably more than many of the younger women posters here.
Still, Scalia is right. There is nothing in the 14th amendment that protects against sexual discrimination. Can you imagine the nation's founders, in the time of the nation's founding, even thinking about many of the workplace issues we face today and women's rights? BTW, those who tried for decades to pass the ERA also agree with Scalia but others felt that protection already existed so the ERA wasn't needed.
There are enough other laws against discrimination on the books and we can't turn back time so I don't think this is cause for alarm!
