The ERA is back! Awesome!

Alice Paul
Alice Paul
Holy crap, I was really surprised when I read this on Shakespeare’s Sister, and then read the WaPo article:

New Drive Afoot to Pass Equal Rights Amendment
Federal and state lawmakers have launched a new drive to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, reviving a feminist goal that faltered a quarter-century ago when the measure did not gain the approval of three-quarters of the state legislatures.

The amendment, which came three states short of enactment in 1982, has been introduced in five state legislatures since January. Yesterday, House and Senate Democrats reintroduced the measure under a new name — the Women’s Equality Amendment — and vowed to bring it to a vote in both chambers by the end of the session.

That just makes me so happy I could cry. Maybe we can finally honor Alice Paul the way we should.

2022-03-16 Update:
This didn’t go further in 2007, but several states made strides. The whole history is available on wikipedia and there is an advocacy organization working on getting this passed.
Continue ReadingThe ERA is back! Awesome!

Feminism 201: The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), affirming the equal application of the U.S. Constitution to both females and males, is still not a part of the U. S. Constitution. The ERA has been ratified by 35 of the necessary 38 states. When three more states vote yes, the ERA might become the 28th Amendment.

The ERA was written in 1923 by Alice Paul, suffragist leader and founder of the National Woman’s Party.” She and the NWP considered the ERA to be the next necessary step after the 19th Amendment (Woman Suffrage) in guaranteeing “equal justice under law” to all citizens.”

The ERA was introduced into every session of Congress between 1923 and 1972, when it was passed and sent to the states for ratification. The seven-year time limit in the ERA’s proposing clause was extended by Congress to June 30, 1982, but at the deadline, the ERA had been ratified by 35 states , leaving it three states short of the 38 required for ratification. It has been reintroduced into every Congress since that time.

The 15 states that have not ratified the ERA are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia.

Alice Paul

Continue ReadingFeminism 201: The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)