Letter: Contact legislators to support ERA

Graphic by Lori Deaton

The 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, was ratified back in 1920. It required 36 states for ratification. North Carolina was not one of them.

On Aug. 17, 1920, the North Carolina legislature defeated the measure by two votes. The next day, the Tennessee legislature passed it, and the amendment became law. The North Carolina General Assembly didn’t get around to formal ratification until 1971.

History doesn’t have to repeat itself! The time to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment is now, and North Carolina should be part of that ratification.

The amendment is simple: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

As written by our founders, the Constitution doesn’t explicitly address sex discrimination. The Equal Rights Amendment would change that.

In January, Virginia ratified the ERA and became the last state required for ratification. During the week of Feb. 10, legislation will be brought to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to remove the deadline for ratifying the ERA.

Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment is in sight, and this time, North Carolina should be part of history and not left behind. Now is the time to contact your North Carolina General Assembly members and urge them to support House Bill 271 and Senate Bill 184.

— Lynne Joshi
Asheville

 

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One thought on “Letter: Contact legislators to support ERA

  1. Chris

    This is 2020 not the 70’s. This amendment is not needed anymore and is a political tool for democrats pretend like they care.

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