The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA):

“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the

United States or by any state on account of sex.”

has never been ratified - but we are on the brink!  With Virginia ratifying the ERA in January, 2020, the required 38 states have ratified.  Now we need the Senate to pass legislation removing the deadline.  As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg explained, “Every constitution written since the end of World War II includes a provision that men and women are citizens of equal stature. Ours does not.”

What Can You Do?  

Now is the time to write to Montana's Senators to support SJR 6, the legislation that will remove the expired deadline for state ratification and clear the way for the ERA to become the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution.  

Need More Information? 

The LWV Montana has made a 10 minute video that will catch you up on the ERA, when the push for an amendement to the Constitution for equal rights started, what it will do and will not do, and more.  

The video can be seen here:  

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1SRtw87s1FAWnA2Imr5ccxaURTsXk-Rhr

Talking points for writing to our US Senators:

• It’s undeniable that women have made significant progress toward equality over the years. However, women continue to battle systematic discrimination in the form of unequal pay, workplace harassment, and domestic violence, and more.
• Tackling these issues will take more than just reactionary solutions. We must address the root cause of inequality by amending our constitution.
• The ERA will pave the way for further legislative progress towards gender equality and will allow the courts to closely scrutinize sex-based discrimination.
• Our Constitution is silent on the subject of rights for women. All other modern nations have a provision for treating men and women equally.  

Other links with additional resources about the ERA are:

https://www.lwv.org/ERAToolkit

http://www.eracoalition.org/

https://www.equalrightsamendment.org

We can’t let the Covid 19 pandemic overcome our efforts to finish this fight for constitutional equality.  While steps have been taken to forbid discrimination at the federal and state levels, the fight to have an amendment to the United States constitution, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), has been in the works for almost 100 years. Women have made significant progress toward equality over the years. However, women continue to battle systematic discrimination in the form of unequal pay, workplace harassment, and domestic violence, to name a few.  Tackling these issues will take more than reactionary legislative solutions that can be undone by later legislation.  We must address the root cause of inequality by amending the US Constitution. The ERA will pave the way for further legislative progress towards gender equality and will allow the courts to closely scrutinize sex-based discrimination. 

Write our Montana Senators today and urge them to support and move SJR 6 to passage!