10 Years

of the ERA

Among the many continuing sagas of the women's movement covered in WSW, the ERA was perhaps the most important and the most frustrating: The following isca» selection of excerpts from WSW coverage of this vital matter, over the past ten years. ~~

What She Wants

TEN YEARS

1973-1983

The Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced into the United States Congress in 1923, and subsequently every year for almost 50 years. It was finally passed on October 12, 1971 by the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 354 to 23 and by the U.S. Senate on March 22, 1972 by a vote of 84 to 8. It had been held up in the House of Representatives by a small group of men in the Judiciary Committee and was brought out of committee by the action of Representative Martha W. Griffiths. Now it must be ratified by three-quarters of the states within seven years (1979)....

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"Why do we need an Equal Rights Amendment? When the U.S. Constitution was adopted, women did not thereby acquire rights as citizens. Their status did not change from what they had enjoyed under English Common Law: married women could not own personal property, make contracts, sue in courts or serve as legal guardians for their own children....They had no absolute rights to employment or education.

The 5th and 14th Amendments are supposed to apply to all persons regardless of sex. They forbid the Federal Government (5th) and the States (14th) from denying equal protection of law to all persons. The Supreme Court, however, has thus far not accorded the protection of these Amendments to female citizens. It held that the 14th Amendment did not confer upon a woman the right to vote. (It took 50 years of hard struggle to win the 19th Amendment to the Constitution giving women the right to vote.) And it has continually upheld or refused to review laws and practices making discriminatory distinctions based on sex. (June, 1973)

The Equal Rights Amendment, äfter being passed overwhelmingly in March, 1972 by the U.S. Congress, has yet to be ratified by the required number of states-30 states have ratified it, 8 more states are needed. Ohio did not ratify it.

...The E.R.A. has never had the respect and dignity of being considered by the whole Ohio Senate. (February, 1974)

Ohio passed the ERA! What about our strategy now?...Most of all we need to remember the words of Jane Gust: "The ERA is no panacea.' ...Laws, no matter how well intentioned and well written, are easily twisted and turned back against us under capitalism. The protective laws sponsored by the YWCA were used to hold women back and deny them overtime they sorely needed. The civil rights laws have not made black sisters free.

Now is the time to learn from the mistakes of the suffragists who-finally got their right to vote and then sat back thinking they had won it all. They ended up right where they started from-still oppressed, still discriminated against, still knocking at closed doors, and still penniless. (March, 1974)

Last year eleven states turned down the ERA. This year none has passed it so far, and the Kentucky House of Representatives has just voted to rescind. it....It is an incredible commentary on the position of women in this country that a simple demand such as

the right to vote and another simple demand such as

equal treatment under the law should be fought with such hysteria and venom as they have for so many years. (April, 1976)

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A state Equal Rights Amendment was added to the Massachusetts constitution and a similar state ERA ...in Colorado was retained by the voters last November. However, not one state ratified the federal ERA. This is particularly alarming because four more states are needed by March 1979 in order

It was just three years after the passage of the Suffrage Amendment that the Equal Rights Amendment was drafted by the Women's Party at a conference commemorating the seventy-fifth, anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention. The Women's Party was founded in 1913 as part of the suffrage movement; and was largely instrumental in finally winning the vote. Their strategy included reorganizing suffragist activity around congressional action, and introduc ing militant tactics learned from the British suffrage movement. They used just about any means to publicize the suffrage movement and to embarrass the U,S. Government, and they were very effective.for.the.ERA to be added to the U.S. Constitution. The vote secured, the Women's Party decided to continue their federal amendment, strategy. Alice Paul, one of the founders of the party, commented, "We have much the same feeling now that we had in. the beginning of the suffrage movement, that ...we shall not be safe until the principle of equal rights is written into the framework of our government.. (April, 1976)er alt sunt) -

Page 13 What She Wapis/Lyne, 1983

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There isn't much time left and if we don't get the four necessary states, the ERA must be reintroduced in Congress. After that, the enormous task of state .by. state ratification must be repeated. The women's movements needs to focus nationwide attention on... this issue, and we need to be as public and audacious do as the anti-ERA forces. singia! sandistandFortunately, Ohio is a ratified state, but we can

certainly help with the efforts to gain ratification in nearby Indiana and Illinois [Ed. note: Indiana ratified the ERA on January 18, 1977]. Phyllis Schlafly doesn't pay attention to state borders as she jets around the country denouncing the ERA.

Historically, the suffrage movement depended on activists to pitch in on troublesome states. Moreover, there are rumors that the anti-ERA will attempt to introduce à rescission measure in the Ohio State Legislature. The National Organization for Women (NOW) has been a key group in working for the ERA, but at this point every feininist and every organization that supports women's rights needs to join together on the last minute efforts for ratification. (Lorraine Sockaci, February, 1977)

The imminent introduction of a Joint Congressional Resolution calling for a seven-year extension of the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment will culminate months of N.O.W. research, planning and strategy. The measure, which would extend until March, 1986, the date by which three states' legislatures must ratify the ERA, is expected to be introduced in the House of Representatives before its anticipated 'recess. Senate action is expected in January....

The legislative history of the ERA reveals that a time limitation was adopted by the 93rd Congress as a "compromise" with opponents of the ERA. The specific seven-year period was chosen because seven years had been "customary," not because seven years was considered to be a reasonable time in which an amendment with such profound implications would remain politically, socially, and economically viable.... (Alice Rickel, February, 1977)

They said it couldn't be done. Opponents of the ERA said its ratification deadline would never be extended past March 22, 1979.

Anti-ERA legislators bottled up extending legislation in committee. Sen. Jake Garn (R-Utah) threatened defeat by filibuster. Right-wing spokeswoman Phyllis Schlafly traveled the country denouncing ERA supporters as "trying to change the rules in the middle of the game.'

But the growing resurgence of activism in support of the ERA delivered a major defeat of such tactics, resulting in an October 6 Senate vote of 60-36 to extend the deadline to June 30, 1982. The extension was approved by the House in August. (November, 1978, excerpted from The Guardian) ·

The May 10 ERA. March in Chicago could be 'described both as a resounding success and as a disappointing failure....

The march took place on May 10 because the Illinois. State Legislature was scheduled to vote on the issue on Wednesday, May 14. [Ed. note: The vote did not take place.] Organizers are now saying they don't expect another vote in Illinois (which has rejected the amendment, according to the Chicago Tribune, ten times already) for several months....

It is odd that the rights of so many that have been denied for so long are being sought after so politely. (Jeanne Van Atta, June, 1980)

WomenSpace has been notified by ERAmerican that Stop-ERA is planning to file rescission attempts in as many as 20 states on a single day during the third week in January, 1981. Ohio is one of the target states. (December, 1980)

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