must tak[e] note of the elements [the] plaintiff must plead to state a claim. Second, it should identify allegations that, because they are no more than conclusions, are not entitled to the assumption of truth. Finally, [w]hen there are well-pleaded factual allegations, [the] court should assume their veracity and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.94 B. Equal Protection Even if Plaintiffs had standing, they fail to state an equal-protection claim. The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment commands that no state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”95 The principle of equal protection is fundamental to our legal system because, at its core, it protects the People from arbitrary discrimination at the hands of the State. But, contrary to Plaintiffs’ assertions, not all “unequal treatment” requires Court intervention.96 The Equal Protection Clause “does not forbid classifications.”97 It simply keeps governmental decisionmakers from treating similarly situated persons differently.98 The government could not function if complete equality were required in all situations. Consequently, a classification resulting in “some inequality” will be upheld unless it is based on an inherently suspect characteristic or “jeopardizes the exercise of a fundamental right.”99 94 95 96 97 98 99 Connelly, 809 F.3d at 787 (internal quotations and citations omitted). U.S. Const. Amend. XIV, cl. 1. Doc. 170 at 29. Nordlinger v. Hahn, 505 U.S. 1, 10 (1992) (citing F.S. Royster Guano Co. v. Virginia, 253 U.S. 412, 415 (1920)). Id. (citing F.S. Royster Guano Co. v. Virginia, 253 U.S. 412, 415 (1920)). Id. (quoting McGowan v. Maryland, 366 U.S. 420, 425-26 (1961)). - 26 -