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The laws associated with Civil Rights protect those rights as written and guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the 13th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution. Such rights covered by civil rights law include under the right to due process, the equal treatment of every individual with respect to the enjoyment and freedom of life, liberty, property, and protection.

Examples of civil rights are freedom of speech, press, assembly, the right to vote, freedom from involuntary servitude, and the right to equality in public places. Discrimination occurs when the civil rights of an individual are denied or interfered with because of their membership in a particular protected group or class. Statutes on the state and federal levels have been enacted to prevent discrimination based on a persons race, sex, religion, age, previous condition of servitude, physical limitation, national origin and in some instances, sexual preference.

The most prominent modern civil rights legislation is the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on "race, color, religion, or national origin" in public establishments that have a connection to interstate commerce or is supported by the state. Public establishments include places of public accommodation (e.g., hotels, motels, trailer parks), restaurants, gas stations, bars, taverns, and places of entertainment in general. Title VI of the civil rights act prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination where the employer is engaged in interstate commerce. There are other acts which deal specifically with other types of discrimination, such as discrimination based on age or disability.