
22 minute read
THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT: HOW THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT COULD SAVE WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Introduction
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JULIANNA MARGOLIN | RUTGERS - NEW BRUNSWICK
A. The Equal Rights Amendment On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court decided Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. This monumental ruling stated the right to an abortion is not a fundamental, guaranteed right explicitly outlined in the Constitution, thus overturning a series of decisions that long protected abortion rights, like Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. 37 In the wake of the Dobbs decision, women’s rights advocates across the country took to the streets to protest to protect the right to safe and legal abortion access.38
However, this movement is not about the right to abortions alone, though this ruling sparked the countrywide call to action; these demonstrations are signs of concern over indications women –and Americans of all genders – could be on the verge of seeing themselves stripped of even more rights.
The swift overruling of precedent that has long protected women’s reproductive rights is alarming as many other hot-button issues are set to be argued in front of the Supreme Court this year. The 2022-2023 term for the United States Supreme Court promises to be another transformative one, with the conservative-leaning bench set to hear cases centering on affirmative action, sexual discrimination and religion, and voting standards concerning state constitutions and laws.39 Court watchers and many Americans at large are anxious to see whether the Supreme Court could significantly alter the legal landscape many generations have grown accustomed to. Still, there might be a solution to the seemingly speedy dissolution of rights and freedoms for women. It would be naïve to declare that, following the Civil War, all Americans were treated as equals by the law. Black men were reeling from generations of institutionalized racism and slavery, and women of all races were fighting for the right to vote and other important freedoms
37 “Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. ” Oyez, https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/19-1392.
38 Powell, Jim. “Americans Take to Streets across Us to Protest for Abortion Rights – in Pictures. ” The
Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 25 June 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2022/jun/25/abortion-rights-protest-roe-v-wade-us-in-pictures. 39 Blaustein, Richard, et al. “Experts Predict Another Transformative Supreme Court Term. ” DC Bar, 26 Sept. 2022, https://www.dcbar.org/news-events/news/experts-predict-another-transformative-supreme-cou.
that had already been granted to men. As Black men began to have more say in democracy through voting rights, women nationally recognized the need for an amendment that would guarantee they must be treated justly and fairly by order of the United States Constitution. Following the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment that granted women the right to vote, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) appeared to be the next step in a logical progression.40
Leading suffragists first drafted the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923, and after half a century of revisions, it was finally approved by Congress in 1972. Following nearly fifty years of a heavily male-dominated Congress, women lawmakers in Washington made the ERA one of their non-negotiable legislative goals, helping to pass the amendment with far more than the necessary two-thirds majority and receiving bipartisan support. However, Congress was not the only vital decision-maker in the passage of this amendment.41
Congress sent the proposal of the Equal Rights Amendment to the states with a seven-year time frame to pass it. Within one year, thirty of the thirty-eight states required to officially recognize an amendment ratified the proposal. Nevertheless, the conservative movement and key players in the Republican Party generated sufficient pushback, and as the seven-year deadline struck, only thirty-five states had managed to act to pass the amendment. Congress responded by extending the time frame to ratify by five more years, but the additional time failed to yield the desired result.42
Though the dream of the ERA never came to fruition, lawmakers have not given up hope that this amendment or one similar could possibly pass – something that would mark an undeniable milestone for women in democracy. Former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and other women officials maintained the necessity for the Equal Rights Amendment, and their calls are finally resounding with some members of the American public in a way that is impossible to ignore.43
B. America Now
40 “Woman Suffrage Centennial.
” U.S. Senate: Woman Suffrage Centennial, 16 July 2020, https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/People/Women/Nineteenth _ Amendment _ Vertical _ Timeline.h tm#:~:text=Approved%20by%20the%20Senate%20on,long%20fight%20for%20political%20equality. 41 “History. ” Equal Rights Amendment, https://www.equalrightsamendment.org/history. 42 “The Equal Rights Amendment: Its History, Its Meaning, and Where It Stands Now. ” Alliance Defending Freedom, https://adflegal.org/article/great-news-equal-rights-amendment-will-remain-dead. 43 Cohen, Alex, and Wilfred U Codrington. “The Equal Rights Amendment Explained. ” Brennan Center for Justice, 9 Oct. 2019, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/equal-rights-amendment-explained.
The Equal Rights Amendment is necessary, now more than ever. The last decade has seen a revolution in the women’s rights movement. The social justice awakening has shown women, especially women of color, as champions for equality. The #MeToo Movement, fourth-wave feminism, and leaders for the Black Lives Matter Movement, LGBTQ+ visibility movement, and climate change awareness proves that women are unafraid to fight for the causes they believe in.44 However, it will require all genders, races, and political parties to make the ERA a reality. This daunting task will be a difficult feat in a country that is still drastically divided across party lines. The Pew Research Center reports that America is rapidly becoming more polarized than any other democracy globally, with Americans increasingly moving farther from the middle and trending towards the extremes of the Democratic and Republican Parties.45 Nevertheless, history has showcased the Equal Rights Amendment being able to garner bipartisan support in the past, displaying the potential this amendment might still possess.
C. Is the Equal Rights Amendment Still on the Table? There are questions surrounding the legal theory behind ratifying a forty-year-old amendment. In the last five years, three additional states have ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, so the argument says that, according to statute, the last missing piece of the puzzle of the ERA is in place; all that is now necessary is certification by the National Archivist. However, the National Archivist, with the backing of the Justice Department, has said that an amendment that has failed to pass before its expiration date is no longer eligible for ratification. Therefore, though some states have attempted to help pass the ERA in recent years, these efforts were futile because the amendment is considered “dead,”46 according to that view. Still, despite this obstacle, some lawmakers are attempting to bring the Equal Rights Amendment back into the discussion in Congress, calling to restart the ratification process entirely and revive this amendment to enshrine gender equality in the Constitution.
D. The Bigger Picture
44 Elting, Liz. “The 2010s: The Decade Women Fought Back.
” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 20 Dec. 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizelting/2019/12/20/the-2010s-the-decade-women-fought-back/?sh=476ba6 ee21ad. 45 Geiger, Abigail. “Political Polarization in the American Public. ” Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy, Pew Research Center, 9 Apr. 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2014/06/12/political-polarization-in-the-american-public/. 46 “The Equal Rights Amendment: Its History, Its Meaning, and Where It Stands Now. ” Alliance Defending Freedom, https://adflegal.org/article/great-news-equal-rights-amendment-will-remain-dead.
Although this amendment seems promising, many are wondering how the Equal Rights Amendment, or a modernized version of it, could affect abortion rights. The ERA would guarantee precisely that, regardless of sex, all Americans have the same rights and liberties.47
This seemingly simple amendment would have a profound impact on the legality of abortion because it would codify the right to this medical procedure in the Constitution. Prior to the Dobbs decision, Roe v. Wade protected women’s reproductive rights under the Fourth Amendment’s interpreted right to privacy. However, since the right to a safe and legal abortion was never clearly expressed by the Framers, and the right to privacy is not specifically delineated in the Constitution, the Supreme Court was able to eliminate abortion from the list of guaranteed rights that includes free expression, trial by jury, and even the right to bear arms. Since Congress is the most powerful lawmaking body in the United States, passing the Equal Rights Amendment would be an unequivocal way to restore women’s reproductive rights – and the conservative-leaning Supreme Court would have no say or recourse to eliminate it. Though the ERA did not receive enough support to be ratified in the 1970s, this amendment could be ratified today to protect women’s rights now and for generations to come.
The Equal Rights Amendment: The Amendment That Never Passed
E. Origins of the Equal Rights Amendment Building off the success of the women’s suffrage movement of the 1920s, key leaders Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman were empowered to further codify all women’s rights in the Constitution. These women, as well as the women who supported the suffrage movement, “believed that enshrining the principle of gender equality in [the] founding charter would help overcome many of the obstacles that kept women as second-class citizens.”48 Progressive people and groups like Amelia Earhart and the National Women’s Party vocalized their support for the amendment and continually brought it before Congress, though it was not until the early-1940s that it began to gain bipartisan momentum and support. Despite the political backing from some, labor movements and conservatives were afraid of how extended women’s rights would threaten societal structures and power dynamics that existed at the time.
47 “The Equal Rights Amendment.
” The Equal Rights Amendment | Richard Nixon Museum and Library, 10 Mar. 2022, https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/news/equal-rights-amendment. 48 Cohen, Alex, and Wilfred U Codrington. “The Equal Rights Amendment Explained. ” Brennan Center for Justice, 9 Oct. 2019, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/equal-rights-amendment-explained.
The 1960s Civil Rights Movement and the reemergence of the fight for social justice emboldened the women’s movement yet again, prompting a wave of intersectional feminism that furthered the push to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. Between the time of its initial proposal and its ratification in Congress, the ERA underwent slight revisions, culminating in the version that stated, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.”49
The framers of the Equal Rights Amendment intended for it to remove gender from the law, making gender something that American courts would have to aggressively seek to ferret out in every way. Furthermore, it would make any form of gender discrimination illegal and effectively make men and women the same in terms of the Constitution. On March 22, 1972, the United States House of Representatives and Senate passed the proposed ERA, with 354 of the 378 members of the House and eighty-four of the ninety-two senators ruling in its favor. Following the Congressional approval, the amendment was sent to the states to ratify and become the Twenty-Seventh Amendment.50 In the proposing clause, the states were given seven years to ratify the amendment before it would be voided. The Equal Rights Amendment left Congress and was speedily ratified by twenty-two states in the same year; however, as promise for the amendment built, so did early opposition. While equality for all seems like nothing but a positive addition to democracy, the ERA was blocked by people like Phyllis Schlafly and other right-wing political thinkers. Those who were against this measure cited the same reasons as those who were anti-women’s suffrage: they thought the “[Equal Rights Amendment] would deny [a] woman's right to be supported by her husband, privacy rights would be overturned, women would be sent into combat, and abortion rights and homosexual marriages would be upheld.”51 The Equal Rights Amendment also failed
49 “FAQ.
” Equal Rights Amendment, https://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq#:~:text=It%20stated%3A,of%20the%20Equal%20Rights%20A mendment. 50 “The Equal Rights Amendment: Achieving Constitutional Equality for All. ” House Committee on Oversight and Reform, 18 Aug. 2022, https://oversight.house.gov/legislation/hearings/the-equal-rights-amendment-achieving-constitutional-equ ality-for-all#:~:text=On%20October%2012%2C%201971%2C%20the,1970s%20fell%20three%20states% 20short. 51 “The Equal Rights Amendment. ” Equal Rights Amendment, https://www.equalrightsamendment.org/the-equal-rights-amendment.
to gain backing in traditional and fundamentalist religious sectors, as well as among states’-rights supporters who felt the ERA would make the federal government too powerful. The somewhat small and isolated groups who vocalized opposition to the proposed amendment successfully blocked its ratification, and by the 1977 deadline, only thirty-five states had approved the amendment. The National Women’s Organization implored Congress to extend this deadline, protesting in the streets of Washington, D.C. Congress allowed the states three more years to evaluate and ratify the amendment, but this three-year period proved more problematic than beneficial. When Ronald Reagan won the Presidency, ushering in a new conservative Republican wave, the Republican Party distanced itself from the amendment. Coupling the growing sentiment against the Equal Rights Amendment with the thinkers who already opposed the proposal, the ERA once again failed to be fully ratified, still falling three states short of the mandatory minimum. Though the Equal Rights Amendment “died” in 1982, lawmakers and activists have kept its name and message alive, continually pushing for more, all-encompassing women’s rights in Congress. However, the United States is undergoing a major transformation in the judiciary and legislative bodies. Failure to pass any significant legislation, like the ERA, has resulted in the current political and social climate in America.
Women’s Rights (or Lack Thereof)
F. Congress and the Court America is highly divided along party lines. With the ushering in of the Trump Era of extreme conservative politics and in the aftermath of the 2020 Presidential Election, society is facing the consequences of polarization like never before. Furthermore, the Supreme Court of the United States has grasped the attention of the public as Americans grow ever more distrustful of the judiciary. Since 2019, “the share of adults with a favorable view of the Court has declined fifteen percentage points,” according to the Pew Research Center. Furthermore, public opinion of the Court is the least positive it has been since the 1980s.52 Though there are many contributing factors, most can be attributed to an overwhelming number of citizens feeling the Supreme Court
52 Nadeem, Reem. “Public's Views of Supreme Court Turned More Negative before News of Breyer's
Retirement.
” Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy, Pew Research Center, 7 Feb. 2022, https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/02/02/publics-views-of-supreme-court-turned-more-negative-b efore-news-of-breyers-retirement/.
is not doing its job. A Gallup poll reported that more than half of adult Americans feel the Supreme Court is not operating in a fair and just way. 53 These sentiments can be traced back to the rushed nomination and confirmation process of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Upon the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just three months before the 2020 Presidential Election, President Donald Trump quickly nominated Justice Barrett, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed to hold the confirmation hearings for the judge, despite being in the middle of election season. Many across the aisle felt McConnell’s actions were hypocritical since he refused to hold a vote for President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee six months before the 2016 Election.54 Americans questioned the ethics and legality of this decision, and though the Senate, by law, is able to set up the process for Supreme Court nominations however they choose, citizens were disappointed that the new president would not fill the vacancy. Concurrently, the public was surprised by Trump’s choice for the appointment, as one of the most conservative-leaning judges would assume the seat of one of the most liberal legal thinkers to have ever been on the bench. With the confirmation of Justice Barrett, coupled with President Trump’s prior appointments of Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Gorsuch, the Supreme Court has a conservative supermajority that is not reflective of a democratic-leaning country. 55
The Republican court-packing and the new conservative bent have turned the Supreme Court into a “spectacle,” and the Court has only gained more attention in light of recent, high-profile decisions that have led the public to lack confidence in the judiciary. 56
In the Court’s last term, they decided cases relating to gun control, environmental legislation, and abortion. The United States Supreme Court ruled in ways that highlighted the conservative agenda, benefitting key Republican support groups like the National Rifle Association, the fossil fuel industry, and the pro-life movement. Through constitutional
53 Haglin, Kathryn, et al. “Analysis | Americans Don't Trust the Supreme Court. That's Dangerous. ” The
Washington Post, WP Company, 9 Oct. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/10/supreme-court-public-opinion-legitimacy-crisis/. 54 Newburger, Emma. “Trump Wants to Move 'without Delay' to Replace Ginsburg, Setting up Epic Supreme Court Fight before Election. ” CNBC, CNBC, 19 Sept. 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/19/trump-wants-to-move-without-delay-to-replace-ginsburg-setting-up-epic-fight-ov er-supreme-court-before-election.html. 55 Jones, Jeffrey M. “Approval of U.S. Supreme Court down to 40%, a New Low. ” Gallup.com, Gallup, 24 Sept. 2021, https://news.gallup.com/poll/354908/approval-supreme-court-down-new-low.aspx. 56 Levi, Dan F, et al. “Losing Faith: Why Public Trust in the Judiciary Matters. ” Judicature, 4 Oct. 2022, https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/losing-faith-why-public-trust-in-the-judiciary-matters/.
interpretation and the override of past precedent, the legal landscape of the United States looks drastically different than it did before this term. In the near future, cases pertaining to educational diversity and voting rights are on the docket, proving the legal future of America hangs in the balance.57
The judicial branch was never supposed to obtain this much power, and the legislative branch has the opportunity to check the judiciary. The people are calling upon Congress to pass laws that could protect their individual freedoms in areas where the Supreme Court says they are not constitutionally guaranteed. Following Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the House of Representatives passed the Women’s Health Protection Act that would deem abortion access as a federal right;58 yet, the Senate failed to overcome the filibuster and could not pass this act.59 The battle over reproductive rights proves that Congress is at a standstill, exemplifying the need for agreeable legislation.
Reviving the Equal Rights Amendment
G. The Legal Theory According to Article V of the Constitution, “after Congress proposes an amendment, the Archivist of the United States…is charged with responsibility for administering the ratification.”60 Therefore, Congressional and state support is only sufficient when the National Archivist provides their seal of approval. In the case of the Equal Rights Amendment, the Archivist was the final obstacle that could not be overcome. Though the ERA laid in limbo for nearly forty years, advocates for this legislation continued to express their desire for an amendment that would codify gender equality. The Equal Rights Amendment supporters created the “three-state strategy” to push for the final three states to ratify it. House of Representatives Democrat Robert Andrews even proposed the first three-state strategy bill that said, should the ERA be ratified by three more states, the House of Representatives would “verify” and legitimize the process.
57 Waldman, Michael. “Last Term: Reproductive Rights. This Term: Voting Rights. ” Brennan Center for
Justice, 3 Nov. 2022, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/last-term-reproductive-rights-term-voting-rights. 58 Sobol, Virginia. “U.S. House Again Passes Bill to Protect Abortion Rights . ” Center for Reproductive Rights, 15 July 2022, https://reproductiverights.org/u-s-house-again-passes-bill-to-protect-abortion-rights/. 59 Harmon, Stephanie. “U.S. Senate Fails to Pass Historic Abortion Rights Legislation. ” Center for Reproductive Rights, 11 May 2022, https://reproductiverights.org/us-senate-fails-to-pass-abortion-rights-bill/. 60 “Constitutional Amendment Process. ” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/constitution.
In conjunction with legislative action and public support, Nevada and Illinois ratified the amendment in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and Virginia became the thirty-eighth state in 2020, marking the final state necessary to amend the constitution to include the Equal Rights Amendment. However, though Virginia concluded the state ratification process, the Archivist still needed to sign off on the amendment. Then Archivist David Ferriero failed to take action to publish the amendment and was met with lawsuits from the final three states in Virginia v. Ferriero (2020). Despite these valiant efforts to pursue the passage of the amendment, the judge ruling on the case said the time limit imposed by Congress was strict; thus, since it was not met, the final three states did not matter in the certification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The United States Department of Justice backed this decision and said the ERA would not pass.61
H. Why Now? Despite being blocked by federal law, Equal Rights Amendment and women’s rights advocates are imploring states to include an amendment of this nature in their own constitutions. Beyond this, advocacy organizations are also suing states to recognize the ERA as law, despite it not being an official constitutional amendment.62 However, others are pushing to get the Equal Rights Amendment back in front of Congress to effectively revive this amendment and renew and restart the ratification process. On January 27, 2022, President Joe Biden released a statement expressing his longtime approval for the Equal Rights Amendment and his call to action for “Congress to act immediately to pass a resolution recognizing the ratification of the ERA [because] there is nothing standing in Congress’s way from doing so.”63 With Presidential backing, there is evidence the ERA would be widely supported in Congress today, should it be up for debate in the legislative branch. Concurrently, there is far more support among the American public to pass an amendment promoting gender equality than ever before. In 2020, seventy-five percent of
61 “FAQ.
” Equal Rights Amendment, https://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq#:~:text=It%20stated%3A,of%20the%20Equal%20Rights%20A mendment. 62 “FAQ. ” Equal Rights Amendment, https://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq#:~:text=It%20stated%3A,of%20the%20Equal%20Rights%20A mendment. 63 Biden, Joseph. “Statement from President Biden on the Equal Rights Amendment. ” The White House, The United States Government, 27 Jan. 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/01/27/statement-from-president-bide n-on-the-equal-rights-amendment/.
Americans were in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment.64 Following the 2022 Dobbs decision affecting reproductive rights, there is an even greater sense of urgency to adopt an amendment of this kind.65
I. How the Equal Rights Amendment Could Change Everything Though some have argued that an amendment protecting gender equality is superfluous because of the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equality for “all citizens of the United States,” some activists are calling for an amendment guaranteeing gender equality to not only help the women of today, but future generations of Americans.66 They argue the only way to effectively alter judicial decisions and override precedent established by the Supreme Court is to amend the Constitution, a power that only Congress possesses. Should the Equal Rights Amendment become a permanent fixture in federal law, abortion rights would be inarguable. Reproductive rights were on the ballot in the 2022 midterm elections, and many states are trying to pass legislation to either block or protect abortion access in their own constitutions. However, this would be unnecessary if the Equal Rights Amendment were to pass, as reproductive rights would be included in the protected class of gender. 67
Furthermore, the ERA would continue to protect American women from the discrimination they continue to face in the workplace, higher education, court system, healthcare, and other aspects of life. Gender is the least protected class in the Constitution; whereas race, religion, and national origin are thoroughly protected categories, the interpretation of gender equality in the Constitution has traditionally been flimsy and misguided. The Equal Rights Amendment would encompass all of the legislation women and women’s rights advocates are trying to pass to benefit women in every aspect of life, leaving “no room for doubt that discrimination on the basis of sex has no place in the United States.”68 This amendment would
64 “Three in Four Americans Support Equal Rights Amendment, Poll Shows. ” The Guardian, Guardian
News and Media, 24 Feb. 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/law/2020/feb/24/equal-rights-amendment-era-poll-congress. 65 Schultz, David A. “Could an Era Save Abortion Rights? Don't Count on It. ” The Hill, The Hill, 13 May 2022, https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/3487622-could-an-era-save-abortion-rights-dont-count-on-it/. 66 “Do We Need the Equal Rights Amendment Today? by Divided We Fall. ” Do We Still Need the Equal Rights Amendment in 2022?, https://www.billtrack50.com/blog/dividedwefall _ era/. 67 Marr, Chris. “Last-Minute Bid to Save Right to Abortion Comes via Era Lawsuits. ” Bloomberg Law, 20 May 2022, https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/last-minute-bid-to-save-right-to-abortion-comes-via-eralawsuits. 68 “ERA Explainer. ” Equality Now, 31 Oct. 2021, https://www.equalitynow.org/era _ explainer/.
act as a safeguard against all forms of gender bias women are combatting now, as well as upcoming battles women have yet to fight.69
In this intersectional fight against gender discrimination, the Equal Rights Amendment would also extend beyond women to protect non-binary, transgender, and gender-nonconforming Americans. In Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), the Supreme Court ruled that employment discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity is prohibited. This inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity is an important addition, as the rights surrounding the LGBTQ+ community are now vulnerable to a conservative Supreme Court. Thus, there is further necessity for the Equal Rights Amendment, as it would promote women’s rights in addition to “[advancing the] equality of rights on the basis of sex, now including sexuality.”70 Feminists have historically been at the forefront of movements for social change, and as they are fighting for legislation that enshrines reproductive rights in the Constitution, they are also advocating for the LGBTQ+ community. 71
Conclusion
J. Conclusion
The Equal Rights Movement is the next logical step in institutionalizing gender rights in the Constitution, restoring reproductive rights in America, and protecting the rights of transgender and gender-nonconforming citizens. In 2019, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand tweeted, “It’s a fact that the U.S. Constitution does not enshrine equal rights for Americans, regardless of gender. It’s also unacceptable. It’s time we pass the Equal Rights Amendment.”72 In the three years since this tweet, the situation surrounding women’s rights in American society has only become more harrowing and alarming. From the conservative bent of the Supreme Court to growing political extremism, the future of women’s rights hangs in the balance. As
69 “Women Still Face Discrimination Worldwide, Says UN Rights Chief | UN News. ” United Nations, United
Nations, https://news.un.org/en/story/2008/03/251702. 70 “FAQ. ” Equal Rights Amendment, https://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq#:~:text=It%20stated%3A,of%20the%20Equal%20Rights%20A mendment. 71 Starr, Audrey. “Room Shifters: The Legacy of the Women of the Civil Rights Movement. ” YWCA Dayton, 17 Jan. 2021, https://www.ywcadayton.org/room-shifters-the-legacy-of-the-women-of-the-civil-rights-movement/#:~:text= Many%20women%20played%20important%20roles,vocalized%20a%20demand%20for%20equality. 72 Gillibrand, Kirsten. “It's a Fact That the U.S. Constitution Does Not Enshrine Equal Rights for Americans, Regardless of Gender. It's Also Unacceptable.it's Time We Pass the Equal Rights Amendment. Https://T.co/9hfzoxxwgn. ” Twitter, Twitter, 27 Aug. 2019, https://twitter.com/sengillibrand/status/1166330802948509698?lang=en.
Senator Gillibrand stated, it is time to take action to support American women. It is time to take action to support the LGBTQ+ community. It is time to pass the ERA into law. The Equal Rights Amendment has met all of the necessary requirements and qualifications to become the Twenty-Eighth Amendment. Americans across the country and across party lines are in favor of this amendment, and the President welcomes this addition. If the Supreme Court continues to attempt a systematic breakdown of women’s rights in the United States, it is time for Congress to reaffirm its position as the true power center for this democratic nation. Society must continue to move forward and progress. Next in this progression is the passage and acknowledgment of the Equal Rights Amendment.