Privileges and Immunities

The Article IV, Section 2 clause providing that ‘the Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.’ It prevents states from discriminating against citizens of other states in fundamental matters such as pursuing a livelihood, owning property, or accessing courts, while permitting reasonable distinctions such as residency requirements for in-state tuition or hunting licenses.

Example: The Constitution Annotated’s discussion of the clause traces how the Court distinguishes protected fundamentals from permissible residency rules — the framework still applied when a state law treats newcomers differently from residents.

Common misconception: This clause is the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. They are different provisions: Article IV protects citizens of one state visiting or moving to another; the Fourteenth Amendment’s clause (read narrowly after the Slaughter-House Cases of 1873) concerns the privileges of national citizenship.

Sources: Constitution Annotated, Article IV, Section 2 — Privileges and Immunities, https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-4/