Memorial Day and the Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.)

Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, is the day set aside for us to honor the soldiers who fought and died for us in American conflicts — conflicts fought, for the most part, in the name of freedom. And what is freedom? According to Merriam-Webster, it is “liberation from the power of another.” Hm-m-m. Liberation…? According to the Oxford Dictionaries, it is the “power or right to act, speak or think as one wants.” Seems to me that sounds an awful lot like equal rights — doesn’t it sound that way to you?

So….I think this Memorial Day would also be a good time to remember all the hard work which has gone on since 1848 to have equal rights for all American women. Don’t you think it’s about time that happens?

The Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.) was actually first proposed in Congress in 1923 by the National Women’s Party, but it was not until 1970 that the House approved the measure; Senate in 1972. But getting thirty-eight states to ratify the amendment has been a difficult task.

This post contains a reprint of my friend David Dismore’s May 21, 2018 Facebook post on “The reinvigorated Equal Rights.” In short it says we have 166 of the 215 votes needed to pass HJR 53 in the House and 35 of the 51 votes needed to pass SJR 5 in the Senate, both of which would delete the deadline and declare the Equal Rights Amendment as part of the Constitution when the 38th state ratifies.

It’s a long post, but it lays out the basics about E.R.A., discusses the current resolutions before the federal Congress,  and lists congressional supporters by state of each of the bills related to ERA. He also includes a list of the related congressional committees and contact info, as well as tons of resource info. It’s a complete E.R.A. Action Tool Kit.

If you live in one of these states which have not yet ratified the E.R.A., you need this tool kit; or if you have a friend or family member who lives in one of these states, they need this tool kit: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia. Just two more states need to ratify the E.R.A. amendment and women can then have equal rights under the laws of the United States of America.

Illinois Should be 37th State to Ratify

The Illinois House should be coming up on a vote soon. Illinois has a state E.R.A., but needs to get a 3/5 supermajority of the House members to approve the federal constitutional amendment — that’s pretty tough to do! The Senate, however, has already passed their bill. Everyone should let the Illinois State Representatives know they need to vote for SJRCA 4. When that happens, there will only be one more state needed to ratify the E.R.A. — provided, of course, the federal bills  deleting the deadline and declaring the the Equal Rights Amendment as part of the Constitution when the 38th state ratifies are passed.

“E.R.A. BASICS:

“Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

“Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by
appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

“Section 3: This article shall take effect 2 years after the date of ratification.”

Days since the U.S. Constitution was ratified on 6/21/1788: 83,974

Days since the E.R.A. campaign was launched on 7/21/1923: 34,638

Days since Congress sent an E.R.A. to the states on 3/22/1972: 16,861

Days left to ratify before the Suffrage Centennial on 8/26/2020: 828

The first E.R.A. campaign came so close to victory that if eight State Senators had switched their votes (3 in Nevada and 3 in Florida in 1975, and 2 in North Carolina in 1977), the E.R.A. would have become part of the Constitution on March 1, 1977, two years before the original deadline. Had seven State Senators changed their votes (3 in Nevada in 1975, 2 in North Carolina in 1977, and 2 in Florida in 1979), the Equal Rights Amendment would have achieved the 38 state ratifications it needed on May 24, 1979, just slightly into the extension period. All these many decades later, the country has changed a lot, but one thing hasn’t. There is still nothing in the Constitution specifically meant to outlaw discrimination based on sex – except in regard to the right to vote. Don’t let that handfulof legislators from four decades ago have the last word. Ratify the E.R.A. !!

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FOR MORE BACKGROUND INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK TO MY FACEBOOK NOTE:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/david-dismore/the-equal-rights-amendment-essential-info-then-more-a-supplement-to-my-monthly-b/2058322280847996/

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CURRENT E.R.A. RESOLUTIONS IN CONGRESS:

“TWO STATE” (“FINISH THE JOB”) BILLS:

These require a simple majority of those present and voting in the Senate and House for passage, and would delete the seven-year time limit set by the 92nd Congress in 1972, then extended to June 30, 1982 by the 95th Congress on October 6, 1978. The time limit was never part of the actual text of the E.R.A. itself, and none of the first 17 Amendments had any time limit on ratification. The 27th Amendment, the most recent addition to the Constitution, was submitted to the States on September 25, 1789 and was finally ratified on May 7, 1992, over two centuries later.

These resolutions would declare that the E.R.A. becomes part of the Constitution whenever three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50) have ratified. Thirty-five did so between March 22, 1972 and January 18, 1977, and Nevada ratified on March 22, 2017, so two more state legislatures would need to approve. If the Supreme Court agrees that one Congress has the right to alter or abolish a deadline set by a previous one, this would be the fast track to ratification.

Senate Joint Resolution 5 supporters as of May 21, 2018: 35 (34 D, 1 I). By party: 35 of 47 Democrats (74.5%), 1 of 2 Independents (50%). 0 of 51 Republicans (0%).

House Joint Resolution 53 supporters as of May 21, 2018: 165 (165 Democrats, though 3 are non-voting Delegates. By party: 162 of 193 voting Democrats (83.9%); 0 of 235 Republicans (0%). Seven seats are vacant.

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“BEGIN ANEW” (OR “NO EXCUSES”) BILLS:

These would begin the process again, require passage by 2/3 of those present and voting in the House and Senate, followed by ratification in 38 states. They have no time limit. Though harder to pass, this is an unquestionably valid and traditional route to ratification – and the method explicitly supported by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a question and answer session after a speech on February 8, 2013.

I call these “No Excuses” E.R.A. resolutions because they confront each member of the House and Senate with a simple question: “Do you stand with the 94% of Americans who think the Constitution should ban sex discrimination, or the 6% who think it should not ?” There can be no excuses given about the validity of deadlines, extensions, rescissions, conditional ratifications, the 40-year gap between Indiana’s ratification in 1977 and Nevada’s in 2017, or any other issue. You’re either for or against Constitutional equality for women and men. And as much as a legislator might like to do so, he or she may NOT choose to be ”undecided” on the issue, because the job of a legislator is to be informed about any bills that come their way, and take a stand on one side or the other.

Senate Joint Resolution 6 endorsements as of May 21, 2018: 15 (15 Democrats). By Party: 15 of 47 Democrats (31.9%) 0 of 51 Republicans (0%), 0 of 2 Independents (0%).

House Joint Resolution 33 endorsements as of May 21, 2018: 146 (141 Democrats, two of whom are non-voting Delegates, 5 Republicans). By party: 139 of 193 voting Democrats (72%); 5 out of 235 Republicans (2.1%). Seven seats are vacant..
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SUPPORTERS IN CONGRESS:

This is a list of Members of Congress who have endorsed at least one of the E.R.A. resolutions introduced in the present Congress. If you are one of their constituents, thank them for their support, then ask what they’re going to do to bring these E.R.A. resolutions to the floor for a vote, and assure passage in the present Congress.

If your Senator or Representative is not on the list, ask why they haven’t gone on record as being in favor of Constitutional equality for women and men, a non-partisan issue supported by 97% of Democrats, 92% of Independents and 90% of Republicans.

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S.J.R. 5: 35 Supporters (34 Democrats, 1 Independent) Sen. Cardin, D-MD, plus 33 co-sponsors.

California: Feinstein (D), Harris (D)
Connecticut: Blumenthal (D), Murphy (D)
Hawaii: Hirono (D), Schatz (D)
Illinois: Duckworth (D), Durbin (D)
Maryland: Cardin (D), Van Hollen (D)
Massachusetts: Markey (D) & Warren (D)
Michigan: Peters (D), Stabenow (D)
Minnesota: Smith (D) & Klobuchar (D)
Nevada: Masto (D)
New Hampshire: Hassan (D), Shaheen (D)
New Jersey: Booker (D), Menendez (D)
New Mexico: Heinrich (D), Udall (D)
New York: Gillibrand (D)
Ohio: Brown (D)
Oregon: Merkley (D), Wyden (D)
Rhode Island: Reed (D), Whitehouse (D)
Vermont: Sanders (I)
Virginia: Kaine (D), Warner (D)
Washington: Cantwell (D) Murray (D)
Wisconsin: Baldwin (D)

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H.J.R. 53: 166 supporters (166 Democrats). Rep. Speier, D-CA, and 165 co-sponsors. Three E.R.A. supporters are non-voting Delegates.

Arizona: Gallego (D), Grijalva (D), O’Halleran (D), Sinema (D)
California: Aguilar (D), Barragan (D), Brownley (D), Carbajal (D), Cardenas (D), Chu (D), Davis (D),DeSaulnier (D), Eschoo (D), Garamendi (D), Huffman (D), Khanna (D), Lee (D), Lieu (D) Lowenthal (D), Matsui (D), McNarney (D), Napolitano (D), Panetta (D), Peters (D), Roybal-Allard
(D), Ruiz (D),Sanchez, L. (D), Schiff (D), Sherman (D), Speier (D), Swalwell (D), Takano (D), Thompson (D), Torres (D), Vargas (D)
Colorado: DeGette (D), Perlmutter (D)
Connecticut: Courtney (D), De Lauro (D), Esty (D), Himes (D), Larson (D)
Delaware: Lisa Blunt Rochester (D)
District of Columbia: Holmes Norton (D) (non-voting Delegate)
Florida: Castor (D), Crist (D), Deutch (D), Frankel (D), Hastings (D), Lawson (D), Soto (D), Wasserman Schultz (D), Wilson (D)
Georgia: Johnson (D)
Guam: Bordallo (D) (non-voting Delegate)
Hawaii: Gabbard (D)
Illinois : Bustos (D), Davis (D), Foster (D), Gutierrez (D), Kelly (D), Krishnamoorthi (D), Quigley (D), Rush (D), Schakowsky (D), Schneider (D)
Indiana: Carson (D)
Iowa: Loebsack (D)
Kentucky: Yarmuth (D)
Louisiana: Richmond (D)
Maine: Pingree (D)
Maryland: Brown (D), Cummings (D), Delaney (D), Hoyer (D), Raskin (D), Ruppersberger (D), Sarbanes (D)
Massachusetts: Capuano (D), Clark (D), Keating (D), Kennedy (D), Lynch (D), McGovern (D), Moulton (D), Tsongas (D)
Michigan: Conyers (D), Dingell (D), Kildee (D), Lawrence (D), Levin (D)
Minnesota: Ellison (D), McCollum (D), Nolan (D), Walz (D)
Mississippi: Thompson (D)
Missouri: Clay (D)
Nevada: Kihuen (D), Rosen (D), Titus (D)
New Hampshire: Kuster (D), Shea-Porter (D)
New Jersey: Norcross (D), Pallone (D), Pascrell (D), Payne (D), Sires (D), Watson Coleman (D)
New Mexico: Lujan Grisham (D), Lujan (D)
New York: Clarke (D), Engel (D), Espaillat (D), Higgins (D), Jeffries (D), Lowey (D), Maloney, C (D), Maloney, S (D), Meeks (D), Nadler (D), Rice (D), Serrano (D), Slaughter (D), Tonko (D), Serrano (D), Velazquez (D)
North Carolina: Adams (D), Butterfield (D), Price (D)
Ohio: Beatty (D), Fudge (D), Kaptur (D), Ryan (D)
Oregon: Bonamici (D), Blumenauer (D), DeFazio (D), Schrader (D)
Pennsylvania: Boyle (D), Brady (D), Cartwright (D), Doyle (D), Evans (D)
Rhode Island : Cicilline (D), Langevin (D)
South Carolina: Clyburn (D)
Tennessee: Cohen (D) Cooper (D)
Texas: Castro (D), Gonzalez (D), Green (D), Jackson Lee (D), Johnson (D), Veasey (D)
Vermont: Welch (D)
Virginia: Beyer (D), Connolly (D), Scott (D)
Virgin Islands: Plaskett (D)
Washington: DelBene (D), Heck (D), Jayapel (D), Kilmer (D), Larsen (D), Smith (D)
Wisconsin: Kind (D), Moore (D), Pocan (D)

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S.J.R. 6: 16 supporters, 16 Democrats). (Sen. Menendez, D-NJ, and 15 co-sponsors)

California: Feinstein (D)
Connecticut: Blumenthal (D), Murphy (D)
Delaware: Carper (D), Coons (D)
Hawaii: Schatz (D)
Idaho: Smith (D)
Illinois: Durbin (D)
Maryland: Cardin (D), Van Hollen (D)
Massachusetts: Markey (D), Warren (D)
New Jersey: Booker (D) Menendez (D)
New York: Gillibrand (D)
Ohio: Brown (D)

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H.J.R. 33: 146 supporters (141 Democrats, 5 Republicans)
(Rep. Maloney, D-NY, and 145 co-sponsors. Two supporters, Holmes-Norton of D.C., and Plaskett of the Virgin Islands, are non-voting Delegates.)

Arizona: Gallego (D), Grijalva (D)

California: Aguilar (D), Bass, (D) Bera (D), Brownley (D), Capps (D), Carbajal (D), Cardenas (D), Chu (D), Correa (D), Davis (D), DeSaulnier (D), Eshoo (D), Garamendi (D) Gomez (D) Huffman (D), Khanna (D), Lee (D), Lieu (D) Lofgren (D), Lowerthal (D), Matsui (D), Roybal-Allard (D) Sanchez, (D), Schiff (D), Speier (D), Sherman (D), Swalwell (D), Takano (D),
Thompson (D), Vargas (D)
Colorado: DeGette (D), Pearlmutter (D), Polis (D)
Connecticut: Courtney (D), DeLauro (D) Esty (D), Larson (D)
Delaware: Rochester (D)
District of Columbia: Holmes Norton (D) (non-voting Delegate)
Florida: Castor (D), Crist (D), Demings (D), Deutch (D),
Frankel (D), Hastings (D), Lawson (D), Soto (D),
Wasserman Schultz (D), Wilson (D)
Georgia: Bishop (D), Johnson (D), Scott (D)
Hawaii: Hanabusa (D)
Illinois: Bustos (D), Davis (D), Foster (D) Gutierrez (D), Kelly (D), Krishnamoorthi (D), Quigley (D), Schakowsky (D), Schneider (D)
Iowa: Loebsack (D)
Maine: Pingree (D)
Maryland: Cummings (D), Delaney (D), Hoyer (D), Raskin (D), Ruppersberger (D), Sarbanes (D),
Massachusetts: Capuano (D), Keating (D), Kennedy (D), Lynch (D), McGovern (D), Moulton (D), Tsongas (D)
Michigan: Conyers (D), Dingell (D), Kildee (D), Lawrence (D)
Minnesota: Walz (D)
Mississippi: Thompson (D)
Missouri: Clay (D)
Nevada: Kihuen (D), Titus (D)
New Hampshire: Kuster (D), Shea-Porter (D)
New Jersey: Frelinghuysen (R), Gotheimer (D), Lance (R), LoBiando (R), Norcross (D), Pallone (D),
Payne (D), Sires (D), Watson Coleman (D)
New Mexico: Lujan Grisham (D)
New York: Clarke (D), Crowley (D), Engel (D), Espaillat (D), Higgins (D), Jeffries (D), Lowey (D), Maloney, C. (D), Maloney, S.P. (D), Meeks (D), Meng (D), Nadler (D), Reed (R), Rice (D), Serrano (D), Suozzi (D), Tonko (D), Velazquez (D)
North Carolina: Adams (D)
Ohio: Beatty (D) Fudge (D) Kaptur (D)
Oregon: Blumenauer (D), Bonamici (D), DeFazio (D), Pennsylvania: Boyle (D), Cartwright (D)
Dent (R)
Rhode Island: Cicilline (D), Langevin (D)
Tennessee: Cohen (D), Cooper (D)
Texas: Doggett (D), Green (D), Jackson Lee (D), Vela (D)
Virginia: Beyer (D), Connolly (D), McEachin (D)
Virgin Islands: Plaskett (D)
Washington: DelBene (D) Jayapal (D), Larsen (D) Smith (D)
Wisconsin: Kind (D), Moore (D), Pocan (D)

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SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE:

CHAIR: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

MEMBERS: Blumenthal (D-CT). Coons (D-DE) Cornyn (R-TX), Crapo (R-ID) Cruz (R-TX), Durbin (D-IL), Feinstein (D-CA), Flake (R-AZ), Franken (D-MN), Graham (R-SC), Hatch (R-UT), Hirono (D-HI) Kennedy (R-LA) Klobuchar (D-MN), Leahy (D-VT), Lee (R-UT), Sasse (R-NE) Tillis (R-NC), Whitehouse (D-RI)

Contact:
Sen. Chuck Grassley
(202) 224-3744
grassley.senate.gov
@ChuckGrassley

Sen. Patrick Leahy
(202) 224-4242
leahy.senate.gov
@SenatorLeahy

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HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

CHAIR: Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)

MEMBERS: Bass (D-CA), Chabot (R-OH), Chaffetz (R-UT), Chu (D-CA), Cicilline (D-RI), Cohen (D-TN), Conyers (D-MI), DeSantis (R-FL), Deutsch (D-FL), Farenthold (R-TX), Franks (R-AZ), Gohmert (R-TX), Goodlatte (R-VA) Gowdy (R-SC), Gutierrez (D-IL), Issa (R-CA), Jackson Lee (D-TX), Jeffries (D-NY), Johnson (D-GA), Jordan (R-OH), King (R-IA), Labrador (R-ID), Lieu (D-CA), Lofgren (D-CA), Marino (R-PA), Nadler (D-NY), Poe (R-TX), Richmond (D-LA), Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Smith (R-TX), Swalwell (D-CA)

Contact:

Rep. Bob Goodlatte
(202) 225-5431
goodlatte.house.gov
@RepGoodlatte

Rep. John Conyers, Jr.
(202) 225-5126
conyers.house.gov
@RepJohnConyers

HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION
AND CIVIL JUSTICE:

CHAIR: Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

MEMBERS: Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX),
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).

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TWEETS, TEXTS, OR SHORT LETTERS TO SEND !

(1) “Overwhelming Democratic endorsement is appreciated, but not sufficient. Bring the E.R.A. to a vote in Congress !”

(2) “Mr. President, what will you do for the Equal Rights Amendment ?”

(3) “Mr. President, how long must women wait for equality ?
Make the Equal Rights Amendment a priority in 2018.”

(4) “Republicans: Return to your traditional (1940-1976)
support for the Equal Rights Amendment !”

(5) “Republican legislators voted the 13th, 14th, 15th & 19th
Amendments into the Constitution. Renew a tradition: Ratify E.R.A. !”

(6) “Republicans: If there’s no ‘War on Women,’ lead the fight
for the Equal Rights Amendment and full Constitutional
equality !”

CONTACT INFO:

(1) Democratic National Committee, 430 South Capitol
Street Southeast, Washington, D.C. 20003(202) 863-8000 Twitter: @TheDemocrats

(2)(3)(4)(5)(6) Republican National Committee, 310 First Street
SE, Washington, DC 20003. Phone: 202-863-8500. Twitter:
@GOP or @Reince

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PETITIONS TO SIGN !

FEMINIST MAJORITY PETITION TO CONGRESS:

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/…/d…/action3/common/public/…

“YELLOW ROSES E.R.A.” PETITION:

The newest E.R.A. supporters are also from the new-
est generation: a group of middle-school girls who
have gotten up an E.R.A. petition to Congress, and all
State lawmakers. They need 163 more signers to
reach their goal of 1,000, so let’s help them out !

https://www.change.org/p/u-s-senate-ratify-the-equal-rights…

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SOME OF OUR ALLIES:

Many organizations give up-to-date information about the campaign:

ERA Illinois has a very good Facebook page, and can keep you up on what’s happening there:

https://www.facebook.com/ERAIllinois/

E.R.A. Action. Especially recommended are the “E.R.A. News” and “Unratified States” tabs:
https://www.eraaction.org/

United 4 Equality:
http://www.united4equality.com/

ERA Coalition:
http://www.eracoalition.org/

A very comprehensive collection of up-to-date information is put out by EqualRightsAmendment.org, which keeps track of the action in each unratified state, and some that have already ratified:

http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/states.htm

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UNRATIFIED STATES: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia.”

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If you have any news about the campaign in your state, in Congress, or if you are planning an upcoming event, let Dave know and he’ll include it in his next monthly update on June 21st !