Today the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution was introduced in the Louisiana Senate by Louisiana State Senator Jean-Paul Morrell. It has been 47 years since the Louisiana Senate has voted in favor of ratifying women’s equality into the U.S. Constitution.
HCR2 was also introduced in the Louisiana State House by Representative Robert Carte. Both of the introductions of the bill come at the opening of the 2019 legislative session.
Currently, only one additional state is needed to ratify the ERA on a national constitutional level. The Constitutional amendment would grant women and men the same legal protections, as well as require equality for all genders. Louisiana is one of 13 states to not ratify the ERA. Renewed interest in passing the ERA has aroused in the last few years, with Nevada passing the ERA in 2017, followed by Illinois in 2018.
Proponents of the ERA include the Louisiana Ratify ERA Coalition, who is currently hosting a lobby day and march at the Louisiana Capitol in order to educate lawmakers about the ERA. Founder of the Coalition, Angela Adkins, has advocated for the bill stating that “the United States leads the world in policy making,” and “if we set an example that women are equal, we can change the way that women are treated around the globe, not just in the United States.”
Media: Feminist Majority 2019; The Advocate 2019; Louisiana State Senate 2019; LARTL 2019
