We Are Woman: Equal Rights Amendment

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We Are Woman is proud to be an official partner of the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017!

1/16/2017

Posted by: We Are Woman -

We Are Woman is proud to be an official partner of the Women's March on Washington January 21, 2017!

Event Details

Together, we will send the message loud and clear that women's rights are human rights! We will NOT go back!

WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER!

UNITE, RESIST and ORGANIZE!

If you are interested in marching with We Are Woman, or volunteering please let us know.

We stand in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families - recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.

Can't make it to DC? Find a Sister March in your area!

Remove The Deadline From The Equal Rights Amendment!

5/06/2015

Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland is introducing a Senate resolution to remove the deadline from the Equal Rights Amendment. Once removed, only three more states are needed to enshrine gender equality into the United States Constitution.

Call to Action:

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was originally written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman. In 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time. In 1972, it passed both houses of Congress and went to the state legislatures for ratification. 35 states ratified it - a deadline was attached and the deadline expired in 1982. 38 states are needed to add an amendment to the Constitution.

"Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

Did you know that the 27th Amendment, dealing with congressional compensation was originally proposed on September 25, 1789 and ratified on May 7, 1992? That’s 203 years! No deadline for that one, but constitutional protection for women? The Equal Rights Amendment got ten years, and then it was game over.

Contact your senators and tell them you want them to support removing the deadline. Spread the word. Make them feel the pressure. Be friendly and courteous but be firm!!!!

There is NO VALID ARGUMENT against gender equality.

List of elected officials to contact:

Sample Tweets
@InsertSenateHandle Sign on to Cardin-Kirk bipartisan bill to support the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment today! #ratifyERA #ERANow
@InsertSenateHandle support equality and justice? Cosponsor the Cardin-Kirk bill to remove the deadline from the #ERA. #ratifyERA #ERANow
@InsertSenateHandle We must fight for equal treatment of all under the law. Cosponsor Cardin-Kirk Bill to ratify the #ERA! #ratifyERA #ERANow

Co-sponsored last session
Senator Sherrod Brown (OH)- Staff: Kia Hamadanchy, Phone: 202-224-2315, Twitter: @SenSherrodBrown
Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK)- Staff: Leila Kimbrell, Phone: 202-224-6665, Twitter: @lisamurkowski
Senator Chris Murphy (CT)- Staff: David Bonine, Phone: 202-224-4041, Twitter: @ChrisMurphyCT
Senator Jack Reed (RI)- Staff: Aaron Hernandez, Phone: 202-224-4642, Twitter: @SenJackReed
Senator Chuck Schumer (NY)- Staff: Becca Kelly, Phone: 202-224-6542, Twitter: @SenSchumer
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (NH)- Staff: Erica Anhalt, Phone: 202-224-2841, Twitter: @SenShaheen
Senator Ron Wyden (OR)- Staff: Trevor Jones, Phone: 202-224-5244, Twitter: @RonWyden

Suggestions from Group
Senator Cory Booker (NJ)- Staff: Daniel Smith, Phone: 202-224-3224, Twitter: @CoryBooker
Senator Brian Schatz (HI)- Staff: Mika Morse, Phone: 202-224-3934, Twitter: @SenBrianSchatz
Senator Gary Peters (MI)- Staff: Zephranie Buetow, Phone: 202-224-6221, Twitter: @SenGaryPeters

Women Senators
Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA)- Staff: Jonathan Thessin, Phone: 202-224-3841, Twitter: @SenFeinstein
Senator Claire McCaskill (MO)- Staff: Colleen Bell, Phone: 202-224-6154, Twitter: @McCaskillOffice
Senator Heidi Heitkamp (ND)- Staff: Liam Forsyth, Phone: 202-224-2043, Twitter: @SenatorHeitkamp
Senator Patty Murray (WA)- Staff: Jason Smith, Phone: 202-224-2621, Twitter: @PattyMurray
Senator Maria Cantwell (WA)- Staff: Nico Janssen, Phone: 202-224-3441, Twitter: @SenatorCantwell
Senator Joni Ernst (IA)- Staff: Andrea Hechavarria, Phone: 202-224-3254, Twitter: @SenJoniErnst
Senator Susan Collins (ME)- Staff: Katie Brown, Phone: 202-224-2523, Twitter: @SenatorCollins
Senator Deb Fischer (NE)- Staff: Josh Lynch, Phone: 202-224-6551, Twitter: @SenatorFischer
Senator Kelly Ayotte (NH)- Staff: Samantha Roberts, Phone: 202-224-3324, Twitter: @KellyAyotte
Senator Shelly Moore Capito (WV)- Staff: Victoria Weaver, Phone: 202-224-6472, Twitter: @SenCapito

Happy Women's Equality Day - A History

8/26/2014

What is Women’s Equality Day?
Source: The National Women's History Project

At the behest of Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY), in 1971 the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day.”

The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a massive, peaceful civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world’s first women’s rights convention, in Seneca Falls, New York.

The observance of Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. Workplaces, libraries, organizations, and public facilities now participate with Women’s Equality Day programs, displays, video showings, or other activities.

Joint Resolution of Congress, 1971
Designating August 26 of each year as Women’s Equality Day

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have been treated as second-class citizens and have not been entitled the full rights and privileges, public or private, legal or institutional, which are available to male citizens of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have united to assure that these rights and privileges are available to all citizens equally regardless of sex; and

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have designated August 26, the anniversary date of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, as symbol of the continued fight for equal rights: and

WHEREAS, the women of United States are to be commended and supported in their organizations and activities,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that August 26th of each year is designated as Women’s Equality Day, and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920, on which the women of America were first given the right to vote, and that day in 1970, on which a nationwide demonstration for women’s rights took place.

Rep. Jackie Speier the Equal Rights Amendment and What is Needed

8/25/2014

Equal Rights Amendment ratification long overdue
By Jackie Speier
Updated August 25, 2014
Source: SFGate

Our Constitution granted women the right to vote 94 years ago, but efforts to ban discrimination based on sex have never earned constitutional status. This gaping legal hole was summed up recently by conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: "Certainly the Constitution does not require (discrimination on the basis of sex). The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn't."

Women today aren't guaranteed equal pay for equal work and are subjected to restrictions on contraception and family planning services, unfair workplace conditions and laws that favor the perpetrators over victims in cases of sexual assault. The need for constitutionally guaranteed equality remains shamefully overdue. How can we have "liberty and justice for all" when a prohibition against sex discrimination is missing from our nation's blueprint?

The Equal Rights Amendment was introduced in every session of Congress from 1923 until 1972, the year it finally passed. The amendment required ratification by 38 states, but fell three states short.

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. The Illinois Senate passed the ERA in May and the Illinois House is set to vote on it in November.

The ERA would provide women with remedies to combat discrimination in pay equity, pregnancy accommodations, contraceptive coverage and domestic violence. Currently, women face a double burden when they are victimized. They must first prove the violation happened, and then they must also prove intent to discriminate based on sex. The ERA would banish this "intent" requirement forever.

As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stated, "I would like my granddaughters, when they pick up the Constitution, to see that notion - that women and men are persons of equal stature."

And so I have introduced House Joint Resolution 113 to eliminate the deadline for ERA ratification.

The ERA has had its deadline moved in the past; the 27th Amendment (congressional pay), was ratified 202 years after it passed Congress. When states tried to rescind their support for the 14th and 15th Amendments, their efforts were struck down by the courts; therefore, the 35 states that have already voted for the ERA cannot take back their support.

Equality is only three states and 24 words away. It's time for these words to be made constitutional law: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

Source: SFGate

Jackie Speier represents San Mateo County and a portion of San Francisco County in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Photo: Rep. Speier & Rep. Maloney Source: ERA Action

Download Graphic to Share

Reformed Whores for the ERA and the #Rally4Equality2014

8/21/2014

The Reformed Whores take us back in time to see what Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton would have to say about the ERA not being ratified yet. They also encourage everyone to come to the We Are Woman Constitution Day Rally, September 13 on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. For more information visit: http://rallyhub.wearewoman.us/

Visit the Reformed Whores website and listen to their fun music and social commentary at: http://www.reformedwhores.com/

90 Years On, The Fight For The Equal Rights Amendment Continues

8/12/2014

2012 We Are Woman Rally - Photo by Lisa Whetzel

| By DAVID CRARY

Drafted by a suffragist in 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment has been stirring up controversy ever since. Many opponents considered it dead when a 10-year ratification push failed in 1982, yet its backers on Capitol Hill, in the Illinois statehouse and elsewhere are making clear this summer that the fight is far from over.

In Washington, congresswomen Jackie Speier, D-Calif., and Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., are prime sponsors of two pieces of legislation aimed at getting the amendment ratified. They recently organized a pro-ERA rally, evoking images of the 1970s, outside the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Recent Supreme Court decisions have sent women's rights back to the Stone Age," said Speier, explaining the renewed interest in the ERA. The amendment would stipulate that equal rights cannot be denied or curtailed on the basis of gender.

Participants in the July 24 rally directed much of their ire at the Supreme Court's recent Hobby Lobby ruling. In a 5-4 decision, with the majority comprised of five male justices, the court allowed some private businesses to opt out of the federal health care law's requirement that contraception coverage be provided to workers at no extra charge.

"They could not have made the Hobby Lobby ruling with an ERA," Maloney said.

Meanwhile, in Illinois, battle lines are being drawn for a likely vote this fall in the state House of Representatives on whether to ratify the ERA. The state Senate approved the ratification resolution on a 39-11 vote in May, and backers hope for a similar outcome in the House after the legislature reconvenes in November.

If the amendment gets the required three-fifths support in the House, Illinois would become the 36th state to ratify the ERA. Thirty-eight states' approval is required to ratify an amendment — but the ERA's possible road to ratification today is complicated by its history.

The Illinois resolution's chief sponsor in the Democrat-controlled House, Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang — who said he was close to securing the 71 votes needed for approval — is motivated in part by Illinois' role in the ERA drama of the 1970s. Back then, the legislature's failure to ratify the amendment was a crucial blow to the national campaign.

"Illinois was the state that killed it 40 years ago," Lang said, calling that "appalling" and noting that Illinois has an equal rights amendment in its state constitution.

One of the leading opponents of the ERA during the 1970s was conservative Illinois lawyer Phyllis Schlafly, who launched a campaign called Stop ERA and is credited with helping mobilize public opinion against the amendment in some of the states that balked at ratifying it.

Schlafly, now 89, said activists and politicians trying to revive the ERA were "beating a dead horse.

"They lost and they can't stand it," she said in a telephone interview. "They're doing it to raise money, to give people something to do, to pretend that women are being mistreated by society."

Schlafly's allies in Illinois are gearing up to fight the amendment in the House. The Illinois Family Institute contends the ERA would force women into military combat, invalidate privacy protections for bathrooms and locker rooms, undermine child support judgments and jeopardize social payments to widows.

"There is virtually no limit to the number and kind of lawsuits the ERA will spawn," the institute said.

Lang scoffs at such predictions and says the federal ERA could be a valuable tool in ensuring fair treatment for women in the workplace and in financial transactions.

Written by Alice Paul — a leader of the women's suffrage movement in the U.S. a century ago — the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced annually in Congress from 1923 to 1970, when congressional hearings began in the heyday of the modern feminist movement. In 1972, the ERA won overwhelming approval in both chambers and was forwarded to the 50 state legislatures in search of the needed 38 votes to ratify.

Congress set a deadline of 1979, at which point 35 states had ratified the ERA. The deadline was extended to 1982, but no more states came on board, and the Supreme Court upheld a ruling that the ERA was dead.

The states that did not ratify were Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia.

Aside from Illinois, there have been few signs that any of those states are on the verge of ratifying the ERA. In politically divided Virginia, the Senate voted 25-8 vote this year for ratification, but the measure died in a committee in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates.

In Congress, ERA supporters have introduced two measures in pursuit of ratification.

One — known as the "three-state strategy" — is a resolution that would nullify the 1982 deadline so that only three more states would need to ratify the ERA in addition to the 35 that did so in the 1970s.

The other measure would restart the traditional process, requiring passage of the ERA by a two-thirds majority in the U.S. Senate and House, followed by ratification by legislatures in three-quarters of the 50 states.

In the Republican-controlled House, the measures are considered longshots, and neither is expected to come to a vote this year. But supporters said their cause would gain momentum if Illinois ratifies the ERA this year.

Although the ERA does have some Republican supporters, in Congress and in states such as Illinois, it has far less backing overall in GOP ranks than among Democrats. Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, suggested that ERA ratification could be among the issues raised as Democrats press their claim that the GOP is waging a "war on women."

"Interest in the ERA is going to continue to bubble up at the grassroots level," O'Neill said. Asked when final ratification might come, she replied, "In years, not decades."

In Oregon, which ratified the federal ERA in 1973, there will be a measure on the November ballot to add an ERA to the state constitution. Its prospects are considered good, yet it is opposed by some women's rights advocates who say Oregon already has strong protections against gender-based discrimination. The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon is concerned that a state amendment might prompt judges to conclude that voters wanted protections against gender bias to be stronger than protections based factors such as race, religion or sexual orientation.

Leanne Littrell DiLorenzo, whose VoteERA.org group has spearheaded the campaign to pass the state amendment, noted that four former Oregon Supreme Court justices had released an open letter disagreeing with the ACLU's interpretation and asserting that the ERA would be a valuable addition to the state constitution.

Follow David Crary on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CraryAP

READ MORE about the Equal Rights Amendment

Phone Calls for the ERA - Illinois

5/29/2014

Illinois State Senate recently passed the ERA bill, May 22, 2014, with bipartisan support. Illinois is among 15 states that have not ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. Currently, there are 64 YES votes for the legislation in the State House, but we need more!

Would you make a few calls for the ERA too?

And don't forget to remind those who voted in 2003, to vote again NOW in 2014!

Illinois State House members we still need on the bill and talking points...

LATEST UPDATE!

Rep. Robert Rita is a YES. Now at 64. And Ed Sullivan in Mundelein has just moved from NO to MAYBE...He voted 'yes' for ERA in 2003.

Is this necessary?

Yes, because right now women have no constitutional guarantee of equality. Current laws can be changed, amended, and challenged. This is of concern being as US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has already stated he believes women DO NOT have protection from sex discrimination currently.

Hasn't the ratification deadline passed?

Yes, it has, however, deadlines can be extended or erased, and there is precedent for resurrecting old amendments, such as the 27th amendment, which was ratified after 203 years. Additionally, there is legislation currently moving through the US House and Seante to remove the deadline for the ERA.

Why are we doing this now?

We have been actually trying to do this for sometime, in fact the Illinois State House passed this back in 2003, but did not get Senate support. Now we have it and do not want to pass up on this opportunity. Also, it is not just happening in Illinois. This legislation is in fact moving through multiple state houses currently, but Illinois is most likely to be the first to pass the amendment.

We have a budget crisis!

Yes, there is, but this is just as important. Women have been waiting for this amendment for over 90 years. It would improve the economic security of women not just in Illinois, but throughout the nation, and if you are concerned about the finances of the state, then you should be concerned about this too, because if this affects the finances of women, which affects the state's finances too.

What does the amendment say exactly?

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 amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

INFORMATION SOURCE: Progressive Democrats of America - PDA

Section I of the ERA

12/30/2013

By: Wendy Cartwright

Did you know that the Constitution does not explicitly guarantee that the rights it protects are held equally by all citizens without regard to sex? The first — and still the only — right specifically affirmed as equal for women and men is the right to vote.

Section I of the ERA states that:

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

ERA and the US Constitution

9/08/2013

By: Wendy Cartwright

IMAGE SOURCE

ERA and the US Constitution

Section I of the ERA states:

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

What does Section I mean?:

It means that neither state governments or the federal government may enact any law which explicitly places undue restrictions upon an individual on the basis of his or her gender. Laws which disproportionately affect, either through advantage or hindrance, one gender above the other, would essentially be neutralized.

Thank you: http://www.equalrightsamendment.org and http://wearefuse.org.

Text of the Equal Rights Amendment

8/20/2013

By: Wendy Cartwright

What is the complete text of the Equal Rights Amendment?

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 amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

For more information please visit:
http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/

ERA Project Is Looking For Interns

8/13/2013

By: Alaina LaTourette

ERA Project is looking for a few hard-working, true believers in equal rights for women willing to intern/volunteer and who can devote time to a serious link-building effort over the next 30 days. Can you please help? If not, do you know someone who can?

What they need:
• 3 interns to do social media outreach to organizations (in particular to our partner orgs under the NCWA umbrella & all women's commissions)
• 2 additional tech-savvy interns who can also answer questions and troubleshoot for the team.
• Someone to help update the website, adding reciprocal links, as well as posting updates and news.

Please contact ERA Project at info@heroicafilms.com Subject line: Attention Angela Grillo if know whether you or someone you know are willing to work on this, how many hours you can donate of your/their time. And while they unfortunately can't offer any money to the volunteers/interns, they will receive on-screen credit in the final film for their help.

Do YOU Have Rights?

11/03/2012

Do you have them? Or don't you? The French have them. So do the Japanese. And the Cubans. Even the Afghan's have them now. But do American women have them?

Please share this video and visit: http://eraeducationproject.com/

Recommit to Realizing Gender Equality: Women's Equality Day

8/26/2012

Although we still have a lot of work yet to do, we should take a day to honor the accomplishments of the women that came before us. It's up to us to pick up the torch and continue to move Women's Rights forward. We still need to finish the job of securing an Equal Rights Amendment.

For events in your area see: August 26th Day of Action

Near the end of the Proclamation it reads:

"I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate the achievements of women and recommit to realizing gender equality in this country."

Click Image to View Larger

Note: 1912 isn't the date of the Amendment, it was the year that Alice Paul really got things going:

"In 1912 Alice Paul met up with her friend, Lucy Burns, and they took over the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) Congressional Committee, trying to get a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote. By 1916, she formed the National Woman's Party (NWP) that demanded a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. "

Presidential Proclamation - Women’s Equality Day, 2012

WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY, 2012

Link

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

On Women's Equality Day, we mark the anniversary of our Constitution's 19th Amendment, which secured the right to vote for America's women. The product of profound struggle and fierce hope, the 19th Amendment reaffirmed what we have always known: that America is a place where anything is possible and where each of us is entitled to the full pursuit of our own happiness. We also know that the defiant, can-do spirit that moved millions to seek suffrage is what runs through the veins of American history. It remains the wellspring of all our progress. And nearly a century after the battle for women's franchise was won, a new generation of young women stands ready to carry that spirit forward and bring us closer to a world where there are no limits on how big our children can dream or how high they can reach.

To keep our Nation moving ahead, all Americans -- men and women -- must be able to help provide for their families and contribute fully to our economy. That is why I have made supporting the needs and aspirations of women and girls a top priority for my Administration. From signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law and creating the White House Council on Women and Girls to combatting sexual assault and promoting women's economic and political empowerment at home and abroad, we have worked to ensure women have the opportunities they need and deserve at every stage of their lives. As women around the world continue to fight for their seat at the table, my Administration will keep their interests at the core of our policy decisions -- and we will join them every step of the way.

Today, women are nearly 50 percent of our workforce, the majority of students in our colleges and graduate schools, and a growing number of breadwinners in their families. From business to medicine to our military, women are leading the fields that were closed off to them only decades ago. We owe that legacy of progress to our mothers and aunts, grandmothers and great-grandmothers -- women who proved not only that opportunity and equality do not come without a fight, but also that they are possible. Even with the gains we have made, we still have work to do. As we mark this 92nd anniversary of the 19th Amendment, let us reflect on how far we have come toward fully realizing the basic freedoms enshrined in our founding documents, rededicate ourselves to closing the gaps that remain, and continue to widen the doors of opportunity for all of our daughters and sons.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 26, 2012, as Women's Equality Day. I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate the achievements of women and recommit to realizing gender equality in this country.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

Florida: Unite Women Rally Highlights Equal Rights Amendment

5/08/2012

Florida is one of the states that has not yet ratified the Equal Rights Amendment but there is a lot of action going on there. Please see our post, "Wouldn't it be nice if we had an amendment?" for more information on the ERA and the National Equal Rights Amendment Alliance, one of the groups that is featured in the following video.

Feeling inspired? Please sign our petition to let Congress know that we have not forgotten the Equal Rights Amendment.

Change.org|Start an Online Petition

Sonia Johnson: Former Mormon and ERA Activist

4/17/2012

"Along with others we marched, picketed, wrote letters and articles, talked to groups, and held rallies. But we also committed acts of nonviolent civil disobedience to bring attention to our cause. Some of us went to jail or were cited. Some of us testified in court. Some of us appeared before Congress. Sonia Johnson, the AHA’s first Humanist Heroine, was excommunicated from the Mormon Church for her support of the Equal Rights Amendment. Recognizing the link between religion, politics, and women, she gave a harshly critical speech at the 1979 meeting of the American Psychological Association titled, “Patriarchal Panic: Sexual Politics in the Mormon Church,” and the year prior she’d raised the ire of ERA opponent Orrin Hatch (R-UT) while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights. All of this happened nationally but is almost forgotten today, as is Sonia Johnson’s book, From Housewife to Heretic." Hidden from History by Cleo Fellers Kocol

CLICK HERE to View or Download Full Sized Version

“We must remember that one determined person can make a significant difference, and that a small group of determined people can change the course of history.” Sonia Johnson

The following comes from: Examiner.com

Sonia Johnson and the Equal Rights Amendment

By: Clair Barrus

In 1972, congress passed a resolution to put the Equal Rights Amendment up for ratification in state legislatures. The Equal Rights Amendment was designed to guarantee equal rights for both genders under federal, state, and local laws.

In October 1976, the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement against the Equal Rights Amendment, concerned it "could indeed bring [women] far more restraints and repressions. We fear it will even stifle many God-given feminine instincts," and would promote "an increase in the practice of homosexual and lesbian activities." In December they urged all stake & mission presidencies to "to join others in efforts to defeat the ERA" leading to LDS-coordinated efforts against the ERA in twenty-one states.

The church mobilized Mormons to participate in the International Women's Year (IWY) conferences. In a show of opposition, fourteen thousand Mormons attended the Utah conference, voting down every proposal in the meeting including anti-pornography measures and calls for world peace. The IWY conference in Hawaii was overwhelmed by Latter-day Saints who elected anti-ERA candidates for the national meeting in Houston.

Some Mormons favored the Equal Rights Amendment. Sonia Johnson emerged as a pro-ERA Mormon leader, co-founding Mormons for ERA in 1977.

She notified Utah Senators Orrin Hatch and Jake Garn "since you have announced your intention to filibuster when the ERA extension bills comes before the Senate, I am announcing my intention to begin fasting on the Capitol steps in Washington as soon as the filibuster begins-a genuine Mormon fast, without food or liquid-and to continue until you stop talking or I die." Mormons typically fast for special needs by skipping two meals.

Mormons Against ERA countered declaring they would hold "Family Home Evening" on the Capitol steps. The Utah senators decided not to filibuster.

Sonia Johnson rose to national prominence after testifying in August 1979 before a U.S. Subcommittee on equal rights. She asked Mormon Senator Orrin Hatch how the church's statement against the ERA could discuss the "exalted role of woman in our society" while leaving women in a secondary status "where equality does not even pertain. ... One wonders if the leaders of the church would gladly exchange their sex and become so exalted."

In Sept. 1979 she further raised concerns of church leaders when she spoke to the American Psychological Association on "Patriarchal Panic: Sexual Politics in the Mormon Church."

☛ Read the Full Article

Further Reading:

Orrin Hatch: Obama Might Attack Mitt Romney On Mormon Faith

Senator Hatch’s Fanciful Power Play

Mittens’ Mormonism matters (and other heresies on Easter)

Is Mitt Romney's Candidacy Part of 'The Eternal Plan' of the Mormon Church?

LEDGERS OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS

Sonia Johnson

Irked by Sonia Johnson's E.R.A. Crusade, Church Elders Throw the Book of Mormon at Her

Hidden from History

The Women Who Ran for President

The Church and the Proposed Equal Rights Amendment: A Moral Issue

We Have Not Forgotten the Equal Rights Amendment

4/17/2012

Please sign and share our petition and see below for the text on the 4 bills that we support. This has been going on for far too long. Although we realize that there are still 3 more states needed to ratify - it's still VERY important for us to let Congress and the President know that:

We still care,

We still want this,

and we are still fighting for it.

Let's get this done!

☛ Click Here To Sign ☚

- Or Sign Below-

Change.org|Start an Online Petition

For More Information See:

"Wouldn't it be nice if we had an amendment ... ?"

View the bills:

H.J.Res.47: Removing the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment. (aka: The Three State Solution)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.J.RES.47:

S.J.Res.39: A joint resolution removing the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:S.J.RES.39:

The Text:

JOINT RESOLUTION

Removing the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,That notwithstanding any time limit contained in House Joint Resolution 208 of the Ninety-second Congress, second session, the article of amendment proposed to the States in that joint resolution shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution whenever ratified by three additional States.

H.J.Res.69

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hjres69

S.J.Res.21

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/sjres21

The Text:

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for men and women.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:

‘Article--

‘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 amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.’.

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