United States Equal Rights Amendment - it still needs to be ratified

[MysticSang'ha]

Intially drafted in 1923 by Alice Paul, btw. The E.R.A. has been in the process of becoming ratified for a long long loooooonnnnnggggg time.

Here is the initial declaration drafted by Alice Paul:

Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Simple, right? Not so fast. Things have been changing throughout the U.S. as public opinion shifted, as the Industrial Revolution swept the economy, as global tensions rose from Axis countries leading into WWII, and as the post-war boom, the advent of The Pill, and the Civil Rights Movement introduced many other factors to consider than what was at the time the problem of the white middle-class woman.

The wiki link offers a basic history of the E.R.A. and it's movement forwards and backwards in it's ratification and public approval.

What has been the biggest obstacle in the history of the E.R.A.? What has been it's best source of support? What form of awareness and education does the public need in order to support their representatives in furthering the congressional vote?

My initial thoughts:

- Because of the long history of the E.R.A., it can be dizzying to sift through how meandering the road as been, and it can discourage the average citizen to understand how important the amendment is. I have toyed with the idea of watering it down to present it to others, but that does the E.R.A. an injustice in the end, IMO.

- Grass roots activism, social media awareness campaigns, and consistent communication with our elected officials offers a means of reaching both the public and Congress in advancing the amendment.

I have fantasies sometimes of scheduling time in my day and calling my state representatives frequently saying, "I'm a tax-paying business owner with a lot of petitioners for the E.R.A., and you sir/ma'am are my biggest priority today."

Thoughts on the Equal Rights Amendment in the United States?

 

[Penumbra]

Thoughts on the Equal Rights Amendment in the United States?

I'm in favor of it. I wasn't too familiar with it. If it's called the equal rights amendment I'd be in favor of expanding it to include a broader set of demographics in order to seal into the constitution itself the protection of various groups in the 21st century.

Due to advances that have occurred since the amendment was written it appears that, legally speaking, the bulk of it is already in place through a series of patchwork federal laws and some additional state laws. The federal laws regarding employment discrimination:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;
• the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination;
• the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older;
• Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (ADA), which prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments;
• Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the federal government;
• Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), which prohibits employment discrimination based on genetic information about an applicant, employee, or former employee; and
• the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.

Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination: Questions And Answers

With all that in place I'd have to think about where women are still legally discriminated against by the government or legally in the workforce. The military would be the one place I can quickly think of, although that seems to be changing over time. Subtle discrimination wouldn't really be affected by an amendment when there are already federal laws in place making it illegal.

Either way though, I'd certainly be in favor of strengthening equal rights for women and other demographics in the highest law of the country, the Constitution.

 

[Sunstone]

The practical side of me says it will be another ten or twenty years before the amendment will have a chance of passage. That is, I have a hunch that the powers that be could effectively oppose it at this time. But I hope I'm wrong. Maybe if it were broadened to become an equal rights amendment for more groups, it would have a greater chance of catching on today.