On Friday, March 15th, ERA Task Force AZ held our second ERA Forum with members of the business and religious communities speaking. Our keynote was IL State Representative Steve Andersson from Geneva, who is a pro-life Republican and was the chief sponsor of the ERA bill that made Illinois the 37th state to ratify. Since then he has retired but is speaking around the country about his support for the ERA. We are grateful for his words of encouragement and urge everyone to give a listen.
Why do we need the ERA? Listen to Senator Victoria Steele, Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley, Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita, Col. Felicia French, Kiana Sears, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz and Fred Yamashita share their thought on why it's time.
CELEBRATE FREEDOM WEEKEND!
ERA FORUM
Senator Victoria Steele (D-9) and Representative Pamela Powers (D-9) along with ERA Task Force AZ are hosting an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) forum to explain what the ERA is, why we still need it, and what you can do to get it ratified. Arizona must ratify the ERA to become the 38th State and enshrine it in the Constitution. The forum will be held Friday, January 18, 2019, from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. at the Third Floor Executive Tower Conference Room, 1700 W. Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007.
AZ Senator Victoria Steele speaks with NV Senator Pat Spearman, who was instrumental in getting ERA ratified in Nevada
Other speakers will include Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-23); Felicia French, Colonel (Retired); Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, Jews for Justice; Kiana Sears, Governing Board, Mesa Public Schools; and Fred Yamashita, Executive Director AFL CIO. The event will continue a long weekend of human rights events. The MLK breakfast is earlier that morning, the Women’s March is Saturday, January 19, and the MLK march and event in Margaret Hance Park is on Monday, January 21. All illustrate the need for Arizona to live up to its early legacy of freedom and equality.
Arizona women need the ERA because women don’t have equality as witnessed by a persistent gender pay gap, the low level of representation in Congress (25%), the approximately 5% representation in Fortune 500 companies, and the daily inequities women suffer such as higher prices and fewer services. The #metoo movement has amply illustrated the constant struggles women face in the workplace. Though the 14thAmendment says there should be no distinction between citizens, it has not proven to fully protect women. Justice Scalia said in 2010 that it was never meant to. Though women are 51% of the population, we are still only 23% of Congress.
The ERA is the simple statement:
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
The ERA was first introduced into Congress in 1923. In 1972, Congress passed it and sent it out to the states for ratification. An artificially imposed seven-year time limit was extended by Congress to June 30, 1982. At that deadline, the ERA had been ratified by 35 states, three states short of the 38 required to put it into the Constitution. But in 2017, Nevada ratified it; in 2018, Illinois followed suit. Today we need Arizona.
Contact Diane Post at postdlpost@aol.com or 602-271-9019
AZ Senator Victoria Steele talks with Senator Pat Spearman (NV), who was instrumental in getting Nevada to ratify the ERA, about what's needed to get the decisive 38th state to ratify and send the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
On March 22, 2017, 45 years to the day after Congress passed the ERA, Nevada became the 36th state to ratify. On May 30, 2018 Illinois became the 37th state. Nevada State Senator Pat Spearman talks about how important ratifying the ERA is on this dynamic video.
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