This morning, Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Jackie Speier (D-CA) led a solid crowd of Equal Rights Amendment activists and supporters just beyond the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Congressional leaders cited the Supreme Court’s rulings in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby and McCullen v. Coakley as key reasons for calling the rally. “Recent Supreme Court decisions have sent women’s rights back to the Stone Age,” Rep. Speier said in a release issued on Tuesday. “Justice Scalia reminds us that the Constitution does not prohibit discrimination based on sex and that corporations have more rights than women do,” she continued.
Leaders of national gender equality groups addressed the crowd, including Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal; Terry O’Neill, President of the National Organization for Women; Dr. E. Faye Williams, Chair of the National Congress of Black Women; Desiree Hoffman, Advocacy Director for the YWCA; and Jessica Neuwirth, Director of the ERA Coalition.
The representatives shared stories of constituents whose experiences reflect the need for a constitutional amendment that explicitly protects against sex-based discrimination, particularly in light of court decisions that leave victims of sexual violence with limited legal recourse.
Leah Meredith, a former GEICO employee, told the crowd about her own fight to resume consideration for a promotion after she learned she was pregnant. “I kept up my work really hard, despite a physically trying pregnancy,” Meredith said. “I was very sick, and in the last trimester, I could hardly walk.” Despite her commitment to maintaining her work, she heard nothing further about a promised promotion until she was going on maternity leave. “I got called in for my meeting, but instead of hearing about my promotion, I was advised I wouldn’t be getting it.”
As it stands, the U.S. Constitution makes no explicit reference to “women” or the rights of individuals on the basis of sex. The Equal Rights Amendment has been introduced in every Congress between 1923 until it passed in 1972. Thirty-eight states are required to ratify the ERA before it can become a constitutional amendment. Thirty-five states ratified the Equal Rights Amendment by the June 1982 deadline imposed by Congress. Congresswoman Speier has introduced a resolution in the House that would abolish that deadline, and require only three additional states to ratify the amendment before it could become part of the US Constitution. Senators Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) have introduced identical legislation in the US Senate. Earlier this year, the Virginia State Senate and the Illinois State Senate passed measures to ratify the ERA.
Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal said she’s encouraged by the momentum around the ERA. “In the 2014 Virginia state legislative session, the Senate approved the ERA. In late May of 2014, the Illinois Senate approved the ERA by a 60 percent majority. The Equal Rights Amendment will come up in the veto session of the Illinois House in November, and Illinois could become the 36th state to ratify the ERA,” she said. “Moreover, the Equal Rights Amendment will be on the state ballot of Oregon in November 2014. The Oregon measure will amend the state Constitution to include an Equal Rights Amendment with wording similar to the federal ERA that was approved by Congress in 1972,” Smeal continued.
Media Resources: Feminist Majority Foundation; Office of Congresswoman Jackie Speier 7/22/14, 3/27/14; Feminist Majority 7/23/14
