RATIFY ERA-NC

by Sleep.Eat.Write

A post is making rounds on social media, in response to the Women’s March on Saturday, January 21, 2017. It starts with “I am not a “disgrace to women” because I don’t support the women’s march. I do not feel I am a “second class citizen” because I am a woman….”

This is my response to that post….

Say thank you. Say thank you to the women who gave you a voice. Say thank you to the women who were arrested and imprisoned and beaten and gassed for you to have a voice. Say thank you to the women who refused to back down, to the women who fought tirelessly to give you a voice. Say thank you to the women who put their lives on hold, who –lucky for you — did not have “better things to do” than to march and protest and rally for your voice. So you don’t feel like a “second class citizen.” So you get to feel “equal.” [Read more…]

Today, we are three states shy of making the ERA part of the Constitution. In a 2016 poll for the national ERA Coalition, an astonishing 94 percent said they would support an amendment guaranteeing equal rights for men and women. But guess what? Ironically, 80 percent of those polled believed we already have it! We don’t. So a huge task is on our plate.

The ERA-NC Alliance, organized early this year, now has nine lead organizations:

• RATIFY ERA-NC
• NC4ERA
• NC National Organization for Women
• NC Business and Professional Women
• American Association of University Women of NC
• League of Women Voters of NC
• Women’s Forum of NC
• Democratic Women of NC
• North Carolina Women United

In addition, the Alliance has attracted several member organizations and numerous individual ERA supporters. To join, go to www.era-nc.org.

Senator Floyd McKissick and Representative Carla Cunningham expect to introduce the Equal Rights Amendment in the 2017 session of the NC General Assembly, which convenes January 11. Plans are to hold a news conference when the legislation has been introduced in January or early February. Also, if the bills are not given hearings in the respective committees, the ERA-NC Alliance will lead a public citizens’ hearing. The date will be announced later.

The first annual business meeting of the Alliance will be held in Raleigh on March 13, the day before Women’s Advocacy Day, according to Roberta Madden and Marena Groll, Alliance co-chairs. Please stay tuned for details—and mark your calendar now for March 13-14 in Raleigh.

Now, more than ever, women must work together to get bedrock constitutional protection of equality into the U.S. Constitution.

Don’t agonize. Organize!

The ERA-NC Alliance, a new coalition of which BPW-NC is a lead organization, recently surveyed all NC legislative and congressional candidates to determine where they stand on the Equal Rights Amendment.

Candidates for the House and Senate of the NC General Assembly were asked to reply to this question:

“If elected, will you cosponsor and vote for the resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment?”

Candidates for the U.S. House and Senate were asked two questions:

1. If elected, will you cosponsor and vote for legislation to propose an Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?
2. If elected, will you cosponsor and vote for legislation to eliminate the deadline for ratification of the 1972 ERA measure, so that 3 more states would be needed to successfully ratify the ERA?

Stamped, pre-addressed postcards were enclosed in each letter to candidates, who were asked to respond by July 31. The questionnaires will be posted soon on this website.

Responses will be announced on August 26, Women’s Equality Day, said Roberta Madden, who organized the mailing.

http://FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bettina Hager – (973) 876-3826 / bettina@eracoalition.org Carol Jenkins – (646) 596-2550 / carol@caroljenkinsmedia.com

BREAKING: Americans—by 94%– Overwhelmingly Support the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Actress Patricia Arquette to testify on the ERA at the DNC Platform Committee hearing in Phoenix, Arizona on June 18 New York, NY – June 17 2016 –

Today the ERA Coalition/ Fund for Women’s Equality released a poll finding near-universal support for amending the United States Constitution to include protections for women. The ERA is a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. 80% of those polled mistakenly believe that men and women are already guaranteed equal rights in the U.S. Constitution. As the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia stated: “Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t.”

94% of those polled said they would support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees equal rights for both men and women.This extraordinary level of support was expressed by both men and women – 90% of men and 96% of women polled. And when identified by political party, Democrats, Republicans and Independents all overwhelming support the amendment as well: 97% of Democrats, 90% of Republicans, and 92% of Independents. “In research terms this is as close to unanimous as support could possibly be,” says Dan Goldstein, CSO of db5 – the market research firm that conducted the poll, “there’s nothing 94% of Americans agree on – except this issue it would seem.”

Jessica Neuwirth, President of the ERA Coalition/Fund for Women’s Equality, which is building a national network of organizations and activists working for the passage and ratification of the ERA, notes, “Our work on the ground confirms the findings of this poll: women and men around the country and across all party lines are ready—and eager—for the ERA.”  Patricia Arquette, an activist for women’s equality and committed ERA supporter, will testify in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, June 18, 2016 at a DNC Platform Committee hearing, where she will urge the party to make the ERA a priority. “All of the things we want for women, including equal pay and effective legal recourse for gender-based violence, are in the ERA,” Arquette says. “This polling shows the country is with us—we need Congress to catch up.”

First introduced almost 100 years ago, in 1923, the ERA was passed by Congress in 1972: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. This amendment was sent to the states for ratification with a seven year deadline that was extended to ten years. By the expiration of the deadline in 1982, 35 states had ratified the amendment, just three states short of the 38 states needed to put the ERA in the Constitution.

Since then, the ERA has been reintroduced in Congress every session. Congress has not once voted on it over the past thirty years. Current efforts to put the ERA in the Constitution are being led in Congress by Rep Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-WY, and Jackie Speier, D-CA. “The ERA is the only way to eliminate the wage gap and ensure women are paid the same as men. It’s that simple. Without the ERA, women’s rights and equality are not guaranteed,” says Rep. Maloney. “The ERA Coalition’s poll shows that all Americans – regardless of gender, party or age – are united in their support for equality for women and men under the Constitution.” Rep. Speier adds, “The poll shows what many of us have known all along – the American public supports the ERA and gender equality. Hopefully this will wake up Congress to this reality so we can finally pass the ERA.”

Rep Bonnie Watson-Coleman, D-NJ, one of the conveners of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, has begun monthly Special Order sessions on the floor of Congress to gather support for the Equal Rights Amendment. Noting the broad base of support for the ERA indicated by the poll, she says, “It’s time for a coalition of men and women, Democrats and Republicans, people of color and more to join together and support this amendment. I’m committed to seeing that happen – it’s clear American opinion is on our side.”

The dba5 poll was commissioned by enso, an agency creating social impact though mission- driven creativity, on behalf of the ERA Coalition/Fund for Women’s Equality. The poll was conducted in October 2015 using an online survey. Respondents were recruited through Critical Mix and accredited by True Sample to guarantee the quality of the survey’s participants. A nationally representative sample of 1,017 people took part in the survey. The data was then weighted, to ensure that it was proportional to and representative of the population’s political affiliation.

The ERA Coalition and the Fund for Women’s Equality are sister organizations, founded in 2014 to work respectively for passage and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and for greater public understanding of the need for equal treatment of women under the law. ***** From a poll conducted by DB5, commissioned by enso on behalf of the ERA Coalition/ Fund for Women’s Equality. Contact: info@eracoalition.org, 202-459-9939, www.eracoalition.org  From a poll conducted by DB5, commissioned by enso on behalf of the ERA Coalition/ Fund for Women’s Equality. Contact: info@eracoalition.org, 202-459-9939, www.eracoalition.org