In the second paragraph, the author asks the question, "...where, then, was the state action that is necessary for in...

BenMingov on November 17, 2019

Hi Maonuo, thanks for the question!

The entire passage is focused on the issue that the Shelley Court applied the Fourteenth Amendment in a case where, perhaps, it should not have been. It is made clear in the passage that this amendment has been applied to state actors, but not individuals.

Lines 19-22 clearly ask where the state's involvement was in order to apply the Fourteenth Amendment to a matter that involved only private contracts. This is why answer choice B is correct. It brings up the issue/confusion with the court's decision to use this amendment to a case in which state actors were not involved.

I hope this helped. Please let me know if you have any other questions!