Senate Judiciary Committee Considers Equal Rights Amendment

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (UPI) — Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday debated the legality and impact of the Equal Rights Amendment, which is 100 years old but never became law.

An amendment guaranteeing gender equality under the law has been the subject of heated debate for decades. With Democrats in control of the Senate, this has become a problem again, but it could be doomed in the long run.

The Equal Rights Amendment, known as the ERA, was first introduced in Congress in 1923, but did not pass the House and Senate until 1972. She then went to the states for ratification.

Congress set a seven-year deadline for at least 38 states to individually ratify the amendment before it could become part of the Constitution. Although the deadline has passed, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the amendment in 2020, reaching the number of states required for certification.

But controversy and legal battles continue over whether Virginia was ratified too late. Supporters of the ERA argue that the seven-year deadline was arbitrary and could not be met.

Now, a century after it was introduced in Congress, a bicameral group of lawmakers has introduced legislation to finally establish the ERA as the law of the land.

“There is no time limit for equality,” Rep. Ianna Pressley, D-Mass., said at a Jan. 31 press conference to announce the resolution she co-sponsored. “It’s about reciprocity, about what we deserve, and about securing our humanity and dignity.”

The ERA continues to face opposition from some Republican lawmakers and advocacy groups. Leading group against ERA and contestant on the recent Hulu show. Mrs Americathe Phyllis Schlafly Eagles argued that since the deadline for ratification had expired, the legislation was dead.

Eagles President Ed Martin accused the Democrats of launching “long-defunct initiatives that are driving their constituency into a frenzy.”

“This pathetic attempt to revive the ERA is not serious. This is political theater,” he said last week.

In an interview ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, Zakia Thomas, president of the ERA Coalition, said Congress could lift deadlines at any time.

“There is a financial interest in keeping women in line,” she said. “If you follow the money, you will see who is really leading the process and what they need the status quo for,” Thomas said.

The status quo is already broken, according to Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, who said she previously supported the ERA but now believes the resolution has lost its purpose.

“For some reason, in the 2020s, we don’t even know the difference between men and women.” she said earlier this month in front of the Senate Chamber. “All this fluidity in the definition [of “woman”]I just don’t support it anymore.”

Pressley said that women legislators who oppose the ERA are “participating in their own undermining, marginalization and oppression”.

This resolution has some bipartisan support. Co-author Senator Lisa Murkowski, Rp, said she was surprised by the Senate’s lack of attention to the issue of equal rights for women, and that there is nothing unconstitutional about ratifying the amendment now.

“What happened in the states must not die here in the Senate,” she said during a hearing on Tuesday. “We still have a long way to go when it comes to achieving equality for women and I think we need an ERA for that.”

In addition to Murkowski, the committee heard from Senators Ben Cardin, MD, and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss, as well as lawyers and attorneys.

Three protesters from the ERA pro-ERA group Equal Means Equal, including group president Kamala Lopez, interrupted anti-ERA lawyers and Senator Lindsey Graham RS.C. They were removed from the room by the Capitol police.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, said the resolution would be put to a vote in the Senate in the coming weeks. Democrats would need 60 votes to move from debate to a full pass vote.

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