Anything can be protected. It's just a law. Protecting a class restricts the rights of other people. We tend to prefer having more freedom and less restriction.

Anything can be protected. It's just a law. Protecting a class restricts the rights of other people. We tend to prefer having more freedom and less restriction. Therefore a law that limits freedom should only be passed after carefully considering if it's worth it or not. Protecting people based on th color of their skin? Worth it. Protecting someone's right to go anywhere they want with their smelly pet? Not worth it.