by Carrie N. Baker for Ms. Magazine In an opinion issued on Wednesday, Jan. 26, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) helped clear the way for the Equal Rights Amendment, according to leading ERA advocates. In January of 2020, under Trump, the OLC issued an opinion arguing that Congress had no power to remove a […]
House Oversight and Reform Committee Holds Historic Hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment
On Thursday, the House Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing about the Equal Rights Amendment. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the Oversight Committee, started the hearing by stating that the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) has met all requirements for the adoption of a United States Constitutional Amendment. It was ratified by 2/3 of both […]
The Feminist Majority Foundation Celebrates the Passage of the American Rescue Plan
Today, the U.S. House passed the Senate version of the American Rescue Plan Act, which will provide economic relief to millions of Americans suffering from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Below is a statement of Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation: “The passage of the American Rescue Plan today is a victory […]
Candidates Announce their Bids to Unseat Senator Susan Collins
Democrat Sara Gideon, Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, has announced that she is officially running to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins in 2020. Gideon has declared her bid amid a wave of several other Democratic, Republican, and Independent candidates announcing their campaigns. There are two other Democrats who have also launched their campaigns […]
Trump Administration hosts Concentration Camps at the Texas Border
This week, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted a link to an Esquire article titled “An Expert on Concentration Camps Says That’s Exactly What the U.S. Is Running at the Border” which sparked controversy over the Trump administration’s handling of refugees. AOC captioned her tweet “This administration has established concentration camps on the southern border of the United […]
Paycheck Fairness Act Passes U.S. House
On Wednesday, the Paycheck Fairness Act, also known as H.R. 7, passed the U.S. House of Representatives, with a final vote of 242-187 that included seven Republicans. The bill must pass the Senate and be signed by the President to become law. The Paycheck Fairness Act aims to strengthen protections against wage discrimination and amend […]
Congress Renews Push to Defund Planned Parenthood, Repeal Affordable Care Act
Despite a mass shooting at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood last week, Senate Republicans stepped up efforts to dismantle the reproductive healthcare provider by pushing forward a bill yesterday to defund the organization.
FMF President Eleanor Smeal Inducted into National Women’s Hall of Fame
Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame this weekend for her many achievements and contributions to the United States women’s movement.
Dorothy Jonas, Feminist Majority Foundation Board Member, Feminist Champion, Remembered
One of the founding board members of the Feminist Majority Foundation in 1987, longtime feminist activist Dorothy Jonas died on June 22 (1921 – 2013).
In Mississippi, and in Every State, We ARE a Pro-Choice, Pro-Birth Control Nation
By duVergne Gaines I just returned from the front lines in Mississippi, where students on campuses across the state united and mobilized to defeat the so-called “personhood” amendment. In the beginning, many political pundits made it sound as though Initiative 26 was a fait accompli. From the day I landed in Jackson to stay […]
100,000 Have Told the FBI That Rape Is Rape. Have You?
By Annie Shields Nearly 100,000 people have signed onto the Ms. and Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) campaign to change the FBI’s definition of “forcible” rape. After a Ms. investigative report found that the FBI’s fundamentally flawed definition excludes hundreds of thousands of rapes from the yearly Uniform Crime Report, Ms. and FMF started a Change.org […]