Document 80: "Equal Rights Amendment," in Susanna Downie, Decade of Achievement: 1977-1987: A Report on a Survey Based on the National Plan of Action for Women (Washington, D.C.: National Women's Conference Committee, 1988), pp. 39-40.
p. 39
EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
NATIONAL PLAN GOAL:
• Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which reads in full:
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.
Brief Overview:
The first campaign to ratify the proposed 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the ERA, ended on June 30, 1982. The Amendment fell three states short of the 38 required for ratification.
The ERA was reintroduced with the same wording in the 98th Congress but was defeated in the House on Nov. 13, 1983 by six votes. It was again reintroduced in both the 99th and 100th Congresses but there were not sufficient votes for passages in either house.
Current Congressional Situation:
Currently (1988), both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees are headed by strongly pro-ERA Chairs, with a balance of votes in the committees to pass out this legislation. However, proponents will not push for action on the ERA until there are sufficient votes to forestall the attempt to attach non-germane amendments, particularly an anti-abortion provision, such as was recently added to the Civil Rights Restoration Act (see Education).
For an analysis of the "strong connection" between abortion votes and ERA votes in the 1984 Congress and the importance of the 1988 elections on equal rights for women, contact The Woman Activist (see Resources, below).
According to a 1987 survey conducted by the National Women's Party, there are 217 pro-ERA votes in the House, with 73 additional votes needed for passage. In the Senate, only 2 more votes are needed for the 67 required, and these are considered obtainable from Senators now listed as "undecided" or "reconsidering" their former opposition.
Why we need the ERA:
The necessity for passage of the ERA was made abundantly clear to the American people during the Congressional hearings (in 1987) on the confirmation of Judge Robert Bork as nominee to the Supreme Court. The defeat of this nomination was a victory for ERA proponents. Bork's strict constructionist "standard of reasonableness" interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment would not have afforded protection to women as "persons" included in this amendment. Anti-discrimination laws would thus have been construed very narrowly by Bork had he become a Supreme Court justice, with disastrous results to women lacking protection of the ERA.
Similarly, the necessity of the prolonged battle to restore Civil Rights, lost in the Grove City decision (1984), would not have been necessary had the ERA been part of the Constitution.
Public Opinion is More Favorable Than Ever:
A May, 1987, New York Times/CBS poll indicates that 75% of Americans support the ERA, an increase of 21% from similar polls taken in 1982, when the first ratification campaign was ending.
Women's Organizing:
In 1987 during the Bicentennial Celebration of the U.S. Constitution, the National Organization for Women and other groups staged demonstrations, marches, and protests to call attention to the continued exclusion of women from the Constitution.
"It's time for our Constitution to fulfill the promise of 'We the People … All men… All men… All women," 'said long-time ERA activist Elanor Smeal, Past President of NOW and founder of the Fund for a Feminist Majority, in a speech to the National Press Club in 1987: "We simply must win a Constitutional Guarantee of Equal Rights for Women… so fundamental, so clear, that no Court, no Congress, no President can ever again abridge it."
Gearing Up for the Next Battle:
The 1988 election of a pro-ERA President will be crucial to passage of the ERA by the next Congress. The National Women's Conference Committee has encouraged its affiliated networks to bring pressure to bear on leaders of both political parties to restore ERA to a top priority position in party platforms.
NOW is making ERA an election issue with candidates and at the national party conventions. NOW President Molly Yard says: "We 're launching a major 1988 election drive seeking thousands of citizen co-sponsors for the ERA. We are following the candidates to raise the issues of the ERA everywhere and we will publicize the non-supporting members of Congress-those who dont support the ERA."
NOW'S National Citizen Co-Sponsorship Petition Drive, launched in January 88, will culminate in a mass demonstration in Washington DC on June 30th with presentation of petitions to Congressional leaders. (Petitioners are available from the NOW Action Center. 1401 New York Ave. #800, Washington DC 20005 (202) 347-2279).
Once the ERA has been passed by Congress, it will go to
the State Legislatures, where it must be ratified by 3/4 of them in order to
become law. To prepare the battle in the states NWCC is promoting the
p. 40
"NO" to arbitrary deadlines:
To assure that women win ratification of the ERA this time around Congressional sponsors must avoid the compromise made the opposition in 1972 that resulted in the attachment of an arbitrary deadline for ratification. Deadlines for ratification are not necessary; Congress can let the amendment take its time, or, if they do attach a deadline, they can make it as long (or as short) as they want. Dr. Alice Paul predicted, correctly, that the 7-year deadline attached to the ERA in 1972 would result in its defeat. Even with the three year extension won in 1978, the ten year period was not long enough to ride out shifting winds of opposition. Therefore, this time around, proponents of the ERA must work to keep the new legislation clear of crippling compromises, or, of imposition of a deadline seems inevitable, we must work to see that we have as much time as possible for passage.
— Allie Hixson and Dixie Lee Riley
RESOURCES:
ERA NETWORKS:
Multistate:
ERA Interstate Network. Contact: Mary Reljic, 404 Brittany Lane. Lindenhurst IL 60046. (312) 356-3379.
State:
ERA Illinois. P.O. Box 131, Lockport IL, 60441, Irene Blatnik, Pres.: (815) 838-1250.
Kentucky Pro-ERA Alliance. Route 5. Box 502, Greensburg KY 42743. Allie Hixson, Chair: (502) 932-7216.
Virginia ERA Ratification Council. 6 North 5th St., Richmond VA 23219. Pat Fishback, Chair: (804) 643-1593.
Minnesota Equal Rights Alliance. 316 W. University Ave., St. Paul MN 55103. (612) 228-0338. Contact: Dixie Lee Riley (612) 348-5743.
Michigan ERAmerica. 15511 Oak Drive, Livonia MI 48154. Laura Callow, Chair: (313) 425-3572.
Vermont ERA. Smith Road, Shoreham, VT 05770. Sigrid Thor, Chair: (802) 897-2630.
PUBLICATIONS
The ERA Facts and Action Guide, by Riane Eisler and Allie Hixson. 1986. Published by the National Women's Conference Center. Order from: NWCC. % Allie Hixson, Route 5. Box 502. Greensburg KY 42743.
Two Hundred Years Overdue, a videotape about the ERA, by the Minnesota Equal Rights Alliance, $25, order from MERA, 316 W. University Ave., St. Paul, Minnesota 55103.
Equal Rights, the newsletter of The National Women's Party, 144 Constitution Ave, NE, Washington DC 20002. Elizabeth Chittick. Pres.
National NOW Times, bi-monthly newspaper to membership of NOW, contact: The National NOW Action Center, 1401 New York Ave, NW, Washington DC 20005. Molly Yard, Pres.
The Woman Activist, 2310 Barbour Rd., Falls Church VA 22043. Flora Crater, Founder and Editor. Carries regular updates on action in Congress, including voting records.
Women's Times, Washington News Service, Inc. P.O. Box 39113, Washington DC 20013. Christine Evers, Ed. Biweekly, covers Congressional and Federal action/legislation on all major women's issues.
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