#Equal Rights Amendment

[liberalsarecool]

Do it. Now.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Eli Stokols and Adam Cancryn at Politico:

President Joe Biden on Friday declared that the Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land, attempting to ratify a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in a last-ditch effort to protect women’s reproductive rights. But Biden’s assertion may amount to little more than an expression of his opinion, with the White House acknowledging that it has no immediate force of law — and wouldn’t order the nation’s archivist to formally add it to the Constitution. “I have supported the Equal Rights Amendment for more than 50 years, and I have long been clear that no one should be discriminated against based on their sex,” Biden said in a statement. “We, as a nation, must affirm and protect women’s full equality once and for all.”

The move, which states that Biden personally believes the ERA has cleared all the hurdles to ratification, would be unlikely to carry weight unless courts agree with him, a hurdle even White House officials conceded as they made the announcement. If successful, the long-shot gambit would provide a dramatic coda to the 50-year effort to get sex-based equality into the Constitution and bolster Biden’s policy record. In Biden’s final days before turning the Oval Office over to President-elect Donald Trump, whose Supreme Court appointees helped to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, the statement on the ERA offered the departing president a final opportunity to push back at the laws that resulted from that decision in several states where lawmakers have restricted and even criminalized abortion procedures. The move shifts the spotlight to U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan, who is responsible for publishing amendments to the Constitution — but has previously said that the ERA’s eligibility has expired, and now could not be added unless Congress acts. Congress, under the control of Republicans, is unlikely to do so.

[...] The ERA would bar sex-based discrimination, including constraints on abortion, by states. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) argued last month in a New York Times op-ed, while urging Biden to formally direct the national archivist to add the ERA to the Constitution, that the amendment has met all the requirements for certification. It passed two-thirds of Congress in 1972 and, after sitting dormant for decades, was finally ratified by three-quarters of the states in 2020. But Donald Trump’s Justice Department said at the time that ratification took too long and the states missed the deadline. That’s a position Shogan supported in a statement last December. Biden disagrees, yet declined to force the issue by going as far as Gillibrand had requested and ordering the archivist to take action.

“On January 27, 2020, the Commonwealth of Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment,” Biden’s statement said. “The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized that the Equal Rights Amendment has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment. I agree with the ABA and with leading legal constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution.” His statement concluded: “It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.” The declaration is likely to win praise from advocates who have long pushed for the ERA’s recognition. But the move, coming just three days before Biden leaves office, raised questions about why a president who the White House said has long harbored this opinion did not act sooner.

President Biden declared today that the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is the law of the land to become the 28th Amendment to the Constitution, but doesn’t order the national archivist to formally approve its addition.

See Also:

NPR: Biden says the Equal Rights Amendment is law. What happens next is unclear

AP: Biden says the Equal Rights Amendment should be considered ratified

[marvelsmostwanted]

Constitutional scholars: You can’t just pass the Equal Rights Amendment 3 days before you leave office

Joe Biden:

[todaysdocument]

Jimmy Carter signs House of Representative Resolution for Equal Rights Amendment.

Collection JC-WHSP: White House Staff Photographers Collection Series: Jimmy Carter's Presidential Photographs File Unit: Jimmy Carter, Roslaynn Carter - ERA Signing

This photograph shows President Jimmy Carter seated at a desk signing papers.  He is surrounded by a group of women and men looking on.

[srldesigns6277]

THE UNITED STATES NOW HAS 28 AMENDMENTS! THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT HAS NOW BEEN RATIFIED!

The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex

[fawnvelveteen]

Alice Paul, American Suffragette and Author of an Equal Rights Amendment, 1910s

[mynext30years]

Voting day! I'm super on edge and I don't think that feeling will immediately go away no matter who wins, but I definitely know who I'm voting for and I have good feelings about how she will do over all.

I'm not angry or hateful for people who vote for the other candidate, but I read project 2025 and that is a plan to take away most of my most important rights and freedoms.

She speaks of plans to keep or reaquire more of my rights and freedoms and is pushing to keep services that literally keep me alive and healthy. I'm sure I can find a way to pull through and make due with life if things don't work out how I hope, but it would definitely be an up hill battle, with the hill being set on fire and full of scary twists and turns.

In any case, if you live in the U.S. no matter who you vote for, remember to vote like your life depends on it.

Also, if you live in New York State like I do, flip over your ballot and vote about prop 1, the updated Equal Rights Amendment for New York state. (Actually, no matter what state you live in, flip over your ballot as their may be important stuff on the back of your state's ballots as well.

[zeemczed]

[jomiddlemarch]

Urge President Biden to do everything he can to publish the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution, cementing his legacy on gender equality. The president’s influence is instrumental to getting this done. Call (202) 456-1111 and text (302) 404-0880 the White House and demand that the ERA becomes reality.

[cjcroen1393]

A reminder that Biden is still president for the next two months...

Convince him to publish this, and we may have some hope for the future.

(Note: This is different from the one passed in New York)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jess Piper at The View from Rural Missouri:

“If you’re not at the table, then you're probably on the menu.” ~Ann Richards A few days ago, I had some thoughts on churches. I read a post about a local church in St Joseph, Missouri and its activities during the holiday season. This specific church has been meddling in local politics for years and I started thinking about their tax-exempt status. After I called the church to check on their activities in helping others in the community, I realized that they were not helping in their community other than offering up their congregants as free labor to other organizations who help in the community.

Churches are tax-exempt because they offer services that local government can’t or won’t. Food pantries. Free clothing closets. Help with natural disasters. This church is doing none of that except sending their members to serve in ministries provided by other non-profits. They keep their tax-free tithes for themselves. After researching, I wrote this post on Blue Sky: This post did fairly well for Blue Sky. It’s not Twitter viral, but still pretty good. I am a creator. A writer. I am also constantly plagiarized. You might be surprised by who is lifting my intellectual property. It’s the massive “progressive” accounts who steal from small authors like myself. It’s “Feminist News” or “Occupy Democrats” or “The Other 98%” who take the ideas and thoughts and writing of progressives like me. They do it so often that readers and followers don’t even notice.

But I do. They have taken my words — word for word — too often. They do it regularly. Just go look at the pages of these huge accounts. They turn the writings of others into meme form and post online with zero attribution. A friend sent me the above screenshot. “Feminist News” ripped off my quote about churches word for word without attribution. They have nearly 2 million followers on Facebook alone. I asked them to cite me and it took dozens of others in their comments for them to edit their post and add my name. But, they didn’t add my name to the meme — it is still being shared thousands of times without a citation. This happens frequently, but what really sticks in my craw is that this is a progressive account that claims to back feminism, yet they lift the words of progressive women creators with alarming regularity. I have people tell me that “it doesn’t matter who the messenger is, but that the message is getting out.”

[...]

Where are the women? What is going on? Do we honestly think women won’t be involved in the writing and creation of bills and laws and committee work? Of course they will. Will they receive credit for their work? Likely not — they will be behind the scenes writing the questions and statements and legislation for committee men. Their work will be taken and used by the men acting as committee chairs. Women, even women lawmakers, have been pushed behind the scenes. This makes it difficult to put women’s issues front and center.

We are being pushed back into the shadows. Behind the curtain. And if the Republicans have anything to do with it, probably behind the veil. Let’s not forget that the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was passed by Congress in 1972, but it has not yet been ratified and is not part of the U.S. Constitution. The ERA has been reintroduced in every session of Congress since 1982, but it has not been ratified. It’s time to ratify the ERA. It’s time to stand with women and make sure we are represented and legally protected in all facets of life including government. Especially in times like these. It is also time for women to demand equal pay for equal work. It is time to demand citations and attributions and a seat at the table. It is time for us to stand up for ourselves and the young women coming behind us. Our work is often co-opted and it’s time we demand better. Cite us. Pay us.

Jess Piper delivering an important message that it’s important to credit a person’s work. Also, it’s time to ratify the ERA.

[shegottosayit]

I’m always a proud New Yorker and this was heavily favored to win but I’m still proud to have voted for it and additionally proud of New York.

[crushme02]

“President Biden seems intent on moving his administration from the odious to the absurd,” Jonathan Turley, Fox News contributor and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital. “This was an embarrassingly pandering moment to the most extreme elements in his party. It is a position based on a long-rejected and frankly ridiculous foundation.”

Read More....!

[fantabulisticity]

It’s been over 100 years since the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was introduced in Congress, which would prohibit discrimination based on sex. It’s been over 50 years since it was passed by Congress. And it’s been over four years since Virginia ratified the ERA, pushing it over the required three-quarters state ratification needed for amendments to take effect. President Biden said he would ensure The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) would be added to the Constitution, and now, with Trump less than 45 days out from taking office, is the time to get it done. In 2020, the ERA satisfied all the requirements to be ratified but was wrongfully blocked by Trump's administration. President Biden now has the authority, responsibility, and opportunity to institute this critical protection for women, girls, and LGBTQIA+ Americans ahead of the second Trump administration. For this to happen, we need a mass grassroots movement campaign urging him to take action. This is one of the most impactful actions we, the American people, can take in these remaining weeks ahead of the next presidential administration. We just need President Biden to use that authority to direct the national archivist to publish the Equal Rights Amendment into our constitution as soon as possible. Why is this important? Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Section 3: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification. The Equal Rights Amendment passed Congress in 1972 and since 2020 has met the three-quarters state ratification requirement necessary for it to go into effect. But because it was not ratified by states within a specific window of time, Republicans in Congress are blocking it from going into effect. Champions in Congress, including Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Cori Bush, founded the historic Congressional Equal Rights Amendment Caucus and have been working to pass the ERA and have it enshrined into our Constitution. They introduced a joint resolution between the Senate and the House that would affirm the ratification of the ERA, but with Congressional Republicans blocking its passage, we need to show the overwhelming public support for the ERA and demand it be passed before Trump takes office. The ERA would not have gotten to where it is today if it weren’t for the tireless efforts of everyday people over the past century—and we have to keep up the fight to demand Congress do its job and recognize the ERA as the 28th Amendment and get it published. “We the people” in the Constitution should include all of us. Honor the century-worth of women and gender-diverse activists who have pushed the ERA forward. Sign the petition to demand Congress recognize the ERA NOW!