The ERA is BACK! Woohoo! Thank you, Virginia!

[ancianita]

NOTE: This post might be removed from the LBN threads, so I decided I'd post it here, too. Because ERA!

The Equal Rights Amendment May Pass Now. It's Only Been 96 Years.

Source: New York Times

Of all the things that Virginia may pass now that Democrats have won control of the state legislature, none have been so long in the making as the Equal Rights Amendment.

First proposed almost a century ago and passed by Congress in 1972, the constitutional amendment — whose main clause reads, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” ... In 2018, Illinois was the 37th. Now, Virginia’s incoming Democratic leaders have promised to take up the amendment immediately when the legislature convenes in January — and given that it failed in the Virginia Senate by only one vote when the body was under Republican control, passage is almost assured.

... nothing in Article V of the Constitution, which lays out the process for amendments, says ratification must happen within a certain period of time: After all, Congress approved the 27th Amendment in 1789, and the final state did not ratify it until 1992.

“We fully anticipate that there will be a Supreme Court decision involved in this,” said Krista Niles, outreach and civic engagement director at the Alice Paul Institute, one of the main organizations promoting the Equal Rights Amendment. “Both sides of the argument have lawyers waiting to file their amicus briefs at any moment that the 38th state does ratify.”

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/us/politics/virginia-ratify-equal-rights-amendment.html

A lot of feedback's been lost, but I hope people will keep commenting on the ramifications of this latest news out of Virginia. For example, customerserviceguy posted:

"Under the Constitution both the President and the SCOTUS have no official role when it comes to amending the Constitution. That power is solely within the hands of the Congress and the state legislators."

Also, "... Mitch McConnell has to do with the ERA at this point. It passed the Senate nearly fifty years ago, so it's a done deal there."

Also, from discntnt_irny_srcsm :
" For anyone interested the Alice Paul Institute is near Philly in South Jersey.

Open for visits:
Public hours- Tuesday-Friday 
12:00-4:00 pm
Second Saturdays (March-November) 12:00-2:00 pm
Price: $10/person for self-guided tours
Call 856-231-1885 for guided tour appointments and pricing.

https://www.alicepaul.org/


This amendment's passage could quash all current cases from states fighting against Roe v Wade.

Roe v Wade probably won't even have to exist anymore if this amendment is passed.

Finally, women will have fundamental constitutional rights that men have about their bodily autonomy.

VA as the 38th state to ratify the ERA is a Big F'n Deal!

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

1. In reading the history of sacrifices made for freedom...

...in this case for women, but overall for marginalized groups everywhere, I have read nothing more true than freedom isn't free.

Thanks for posting both of these threads here and in LBN.

[ancianita]

2. Not a problem since I love being the bearer of great news. Thanks for your posts!

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

3. You're very welcome

Maybe consider cross posting in HoF: https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1255

[ancianita]

4. I think I posted there once. Thanks. I'll consider that.

[lunatica]

5. I hope to see it enshrined permanently in the Constitution.

I’m 71 and I’ve spent a lifetime fighting for equal rights for every single person. It would be nice to see it happen to finally put a stop to the constant attacks and reversals to women’s rights.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

6. the 14th amendment -should- have been enough, but it wasn't

The ERA would spell it out so courts, especially SCOTUS, can't dance around the problem.

[crickets]

7. This. I would love, love to see it pass.

Watching the chance go by in the '70s was so frustrating and heartbreaking.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

8. it was frustrating

Late '60s and into the '70s looked so promising and then the reactionary blows started landing. There have been too many right-wing victories against society for too many years. We're overdue to correct some old wrongs -- health care and systemic discrimination, especially.

[NCLefty]

9. Congress might need to "open a new ratification period"

It's a thing that expired. I think. Google it. :p

The amendment failed to secure ratification from the four additional states needed before 1982, the expiration date set by Congress.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/06/18/the-equal-rights-amendment-has-been-dead-for-36-years-why-it-might-be-on-the-verge-of-a-comeback/

[ancianita]

10. I read that there really is no timeline for amendments.

which is why VA can still vote on it.

No timelines have been on other amendments, so ...

[crickets]

11. Kickin' it up. nt