When University of Cincinnati law professor Jack Chin and some students heard that Alabama and South Carolina repealed prohibitions on interracial marriage in the late 1990’s, they began to look into other discriminatory laws that were still on the books.

They found that Ohio ratified the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection to all citizens, in 1867. Ohio Democrats then won control of the General Assembly and repealed the ratification a year later.

A week ago today, the Senate voted unanimously to ratify the 14th Amendment once again.

“It was a shock to think that the state of Ohio rescinded its ratification and never got around to fixing it,” said Sen. Mark Mallory, a Democrat from Cincinnati who proposed the amendment to the Senate.

“It was a real surprise to learn that Ohio was the only state at that time that never ratified it,” he said.

Chin and his students were already successful in getting Kansas and Wyoming to repeal discriminatory laws that restricted Asians from inheriting property. After those statutes were repealed, Chin discovered Ohio’s failure to ratify the 14th amendment.

“We invited Sen. Mallory and Rep. Gary Cates to come talk to our seminar, and they were happy to do so,” said Chin. “We were interested in the general question of how laws get passed and how the 14th Amendment might get ratified. They both understood immediately the importance of Ohio ratifying this amendment and worked with us to get it done.”

“Ohio’s last word on the 14th Amendment is that they are against it,” Chin said. “This is an unfortunate message that should be corrected. In addition, a number of extremist Web sites on the Internet argue that there is no 14th Amendment, in part relying on Ohio’s rescission in 1868. I think squelching some of this rhetoric goes beyond symbolism.”

Michael Les Benedict, a history professor who specializes in American legal and constitutional history, said Ohio had no legal reason to reverse its repeal of the amendment.

“According to American constitutional law, once a state has ratified an amendment, it cannot rescind the ratification,” said Benedict. “The fact is, Ohio has ratified the 14th Amendment, and the so-called rescission had no legal effect.”

The 14th Amendment has been federal law since 1868, but most believe Ohio’s official stance is important regardless of its legal impact.

“Symbolically, I think it was important to correct its previous mistake so that people are clear that our state supports the principles of the 14th Amendment,” Mallory said.

The legislature that originally ratified the 14th Amendment was controlled by Republicans, Benedict said. Every Democrat voted in opposition to the ratification, and when the power balance in the legislature shifted, the Democrats took that as a sign that Ohioans were opposed to the 14th Amendment and repealed Ohio’s ratification.

It took nearly 135 years to again change Ohio’s official stance on the amendment, mostly because it did not have a legal effect, but also simply because it was not noticed until Chin discovered the error. Chin’s discovery could benefit Ohio Republicans, Benedict said.

“It may be that some Republican legislators want to show that their party is not hostile to racial minorities, especially after the controversy over former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott’s remarks apparently praising segregation and despite President Bush’s opposition to affirmative action,” Benedict said.