RATIFY ERA-NC

Christine Ganis, right, greets Roberta Madden, left, and Nancy Glowacki of RATIFY ERA-NC at Sandhills AAUW workshop.

By Dr. Christine C. Ganis, AAUW Program Chair

The Sandhills Branch of the American Association of University Women offered a free public workshop, “To Form a More Perfect Union: Now is the Time for the Equal Rights Amendment“ on November 14 at the Southern Pines Civic Club.

Workshop presenters were Roberta Madden, from Black Mountain, and Nancy Glowacki, from Henderson, co-founders of RATIFY ERA – NC, who described the ERA as “bedrock protection” which would provide for basic human rights not to be eroded by changing administrations or political climates in each state over time.

The Equal Rights Amendment simply states, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”  The ERA was passed by Congress in 1972 and sent to the states for ratification. Approval by the legislatures of 38 states (three quarters of the 50 states) is required to make an amendment part of the Constitution.  In the next five years, 35 states approved the measure, three states short of the congressionally imposed deadline of 1982.

However, in 1992, proponents came up with a “three state strategy,” arguing that Congress can alter time limits for ratification, just as they can establish arbitrary expiration dates.  For instance, precedent allowed for a congressional pay raise 203 years after Congress began the ratification process on that issue.  Legal analysis supports the premise that if three more states ratify, the existing 35 state ratifications achieved already remain valid.  Once one more state, such as North Carolina, ratifies the ERA, that state would become the new “ground zero” for a test case in the Supreme Court

As women’s participation in the public arena increases both statewide and nationally, and regardless of party affiliation, women are intensifying their efforts for inclusion.  Due to the enthusiasm over the topic, with its overarching significance, a local coalition of interested groups is being considered.  Contact Alice Shaughnessy, AAUW President, at jshaughnessy@nc.rr.com or Dr. Christine Ganis, AAUW Program Chair, at chrisganis@mac.com if you are interested.

Read the article by Claire Smith in womenadvancenc.org

Summary

GOAL 1:  Build awareness of need to ratify Equal Rights Amendment among the general public and political representatives using a variety of communication vehicles being measured by several devices to make a minimum of 500,000 contacts by the end of calendar year 2015.

Website, social media, print media, workshops and talks, communication with members of Congress and key legislators.

GOAL 2: Ratify ERA-NC will take the first step to broaden its contact base from the current 30+ groups by identifying a diverse 10-20 more groups in the January – March 2014 quarter to reach a total of 40-50; these groups will represent a wide variety of demographics.

Research organizations; send letters to ask for involvement in our website, donating funds, assisting in ERA education and lobbying; determine and execute methods of distribution of material and call to action.

Organizations: NCWU members (30), AFL-CIO, unions, LWV-NC, American Indian women, B’nai B’rith, Asian women, NC Council of Churches, Latina women, Women Lawyers, Carolina Baptist Assn., AME Zion, Blue Ridge Baptist, WIN (NAACP women), Muslim groups, NC Student Government Assn., state community colleges, regional student councils.

GOAL 3:  RATIFY ERA-NC will set up ongoing advocacy for current women’s issues via our website, incorporating links to organizations and multimedia; statewide alerts will be used as needed.

Achieve website management proficiency, use ongoing print media to educate and advocate for women’s issues and the ERA.           

SCSJ has filed suit opposing North Carolina’s Voter ID law, and a separate suit challenging other aspects of NC’s new voter restriction law including limits to early voting, the end of provisional ballots for out-of-precinct voters, and the elimination of same-day voter registration. In both suits, SCSJ argues that the new law disproportionately affects people of color, the elderly, students, and the very poor.  It has now become clear that women are also experiencing new obstacles to exercising their right to vote. Continue reading →

by Roberta Madden for the Asheville Citizen-Times, Oct. 4, 2013

“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Sounds reasonable. Who could disagree?

This year the North Carolina General Assembly did not consider legislation to install this guarantee, known as the Equal Rights Amendment, into the U.S. Constitution. That will happen at a later date.

However, the 2013 legislature made plenty of decisions on issues affecting women — all adversely. Some object to the term “war on women,” but most of the casualties of these legislative actions are women. Continue reading →

An organization, Ratify ERA-NC, has formed under the co-directorship of Roberta Madden, Black Mountain, and Nancy Glowacki, Hendersonville, and has begun to build a statewide database, Madden told Asheville Rising members Thursday, May 9.

“The Equal Rights Amendment is the simple idea women should be included in the constitution,” says Madden.

The informal meeting came as a result of Asheville Rising members expressing interest in addressing the underlying cause of the many problems undermining women’s welfare in matters of health, law, and economics.

A video filmed during International Women’s Day in March features local women’s responses to these issues.

A recognized leader in the Equal Rights Movement for more than 40 years, Madden was invited to meet with the group to share information and create public awareness regarding the current efforts to encourage North Carolina’s ratification of the amendment.

Why ERA? Why now? Continue reading →