Personal message from your current Vice-Chair…
Yes, the Equal Rights Amendment has outlived Phyllis Schlafly and has been officially ratified by 38 states with Virginia’s ratification. Of course, there will be court challenges now about the time it took since when passed by Congress in 1972, a time limit was put on it. Never-mind that the US Constitution requires no time limit.
This is a strange victory for me personally. The ERA was my first taste of working in the political system. In the 1980’s I became active in Illinois to ratify (I grew up there). This is an amendment that had things stacked against it. The Illinois Senate and House required a 3/5ths super majority to ratify (only for this amendment); it always had a simple majority. Phyllis Schlafly organized against it claiming that it would require unisex bathrooms, women in the military, no spousal benefits from Social Security.
Schlafly stopped the ERA by pitting women against each other. Think about that.
Sound familiar with what is happening today? Super majorities to pass legislation? Democrats being pitted against each other? Again, think about it. We don’t want and we can’t afford failure in 2020.
By the way, Oregon ratified the ERA in 1972. Oregon has the ERA in its own state constitution, passed in 2013.
Here is more about today’s passage in Virginia.
More about time limits on amendments… interesting.