Equal Rights Amendment

Equal Rights Amendment

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Education and advocacy related to the Equal Rights Amendment.

sherrybmacqueen [at] gmail.com (Join Us)  ERA in the News

WE'RE SO CLOSE – LET’S PUT WOMEN
IN THE CONSTITUTION

ERA nc

It takes 3/4 of U.S. states to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In January 2020, Virginia became the 38th and final state needed to make the ERA the law of the land.

Challenges came immediately. The current administration advised the Archivist of the U.S. to hold up the process because of a deadline Congress had imposed in the 1980s. But our lawyers insist that what Congress can put-eth in an amendment, Congress can taketh away – hence our current fight to “remove the deadline.” The U.S. House has done so. Now we’re working to persuade the Senate to do the same. Forty-eight senators support Senate Joint Resolution 6 – a joint resolution removing the deadline for the ratification of the ERA. We need more.

LWVUS Grant - Just in Time! 

While we work to persuade the Senate to drop the deadline, we’re also urging our own North Carolina legislature to finally ratify the ERA. We got a big boost from LWVUS when they awarded $5,000 grants to several unratified state Leagues for communications, including LWVNC.

Our ERA-LAT campaign features proud, caring dads talking about their daughters’ need for equal protection under the law. Postcards were mailed to 5,000 NC voters and are being used on social media. 

dads for equality era

                                  dads for equality image

LWV of Charlotte-Mecklenburg pitched in with a great idea, soliciting friends to post dad-and-daughter photos on social media. Start digging through your photos now and join the campaign using the hashtags #DadsforEquality and #RatifyERA.  

dads for equality social media example

WE SAY WE BELIEVE IN EQUALITY… 

... And we must prove it and live it. Whether discrimination is based on gender, race, religion, or ethnicity, it’s up to us as citizens of the United States to put into action the ideals to which we lay claim.

Pat Spearman

Nevada State Sen. Pat Spearman, whose impassioned speech persuaded Nevada to ratify the ERA, has a wonderful way of speaking about opponents of equality. Spearman is sure that champions of fairness will win over naysayers because "there’s not enough bad in them and ain’t enough quit in us.”

sherry era

Some Common Questions about the ERA: 

Why do we need an Equal Rights Amendment?
Because women’s equality is not guaranteed by the Constitution. 

Aren’t women considered equal under the 14th Amendment?
No. If they were, we wouldn’t have needed the 19th to let women vote!

What about the deadline set back in the 1970s?
Deadline was never part of the amendment.  It was a "whereas," and whereases are non-operative in bills.

Originalists say if women were to be equal, Constitution would have said so.
Our founders saw that things change over time. Quite brilliantly, they made provision for amending the Constitution when ¾ of states agree. 38 states (¾) have ratified ERA.

ERA = more abortions?  
No. The ERA has nothing to do with abortion. Just ask the pro-life Republican who was instrumental in getting the ERA ratified in Illinois—Representative Steven Andersson, steve [at] stevemail.comSee Rep. Andersson’s incredible endorsement of ERA given at the ERA-NC Alliance Annual Meeting.  LWVNC is a lead org of the Alliance.

 

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North Carolina

All Posts Related to this Committee

excerpt from letter to the editor published may 11, 2022
News

Today (May 11, 2022), the News & Observer published a letter to the editor submitted by the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters of North Carolina regarding our commitment to ensuring that all people have equal access to repr

era coalition rally
Event Date: 
Jan 27 2022 12:00 am to 11:45 pm

ERA Coalition is rallying in Washington, D.C. on January 27, 2022 for a more just future for ALL that includes reproductive rights, voting rights, and equal rights for women!

flyer for aug. 26, 2021
Event Date: 
Aug 26 2021 10:00 am
Event location: 

NC General Assembly Building

On Aug. 26 in Raleigh, let's gather to celebrate women's right to vote and demand ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment! 

durham film screen
Event Date: 
Jan 28 2021 11:30 am
Event location: 

Virtual

The Equal Rights Amendment, ensuring the legal equality of women, was never ratified at the state level in North Carolina.

womxn march 2021
Event Date: 
Jan 23 2021 09:00 am to Jan 24 2021 08:45 am
Event location: 

Virtual

This year, the Womxn's March will be hosting a VIRTUAL Rally and posting content throughout the day to promote the work of grassroots activists and community organizations across North Carolina.  

era town hall jan 2021
Event Date: 
Jan 21 2021 07:00 pm to Jan 22 2021 06:45 pm
Event location: 

Virtual

On Thursday, January 21st at 7 PM, Rep. Julie von Haefen and Senator Natasha Marcus will host a virtual town hall regarding the urgent need to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution.

RVG image of wrapped vehicle
News

The same group that fought for ratification of the ERA in Virginia has come up with Vote Equality U.S. – a non-partisan, awareness-building campaign for ERA with links to candidates’ stances on the Equal Right

Sherry MacQueen era march
News
From ERA League Action Team Co-Chair Sherry MacQueen: 
 
dads for equality era
Blog Post

A message from our ERA League Action Team: