Democratic Women’s Caucus Calls for Senate to Affirm the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution
Washington, D.C. – Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) Co-Chairs Congresswomen Jackie Speier (CA-14), Lois Frankel (FL-21), and Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Vice Chairs Congresswomen Veronica Escobar (TX-16) and Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY-12) sent a letter signed by 146 Members of Congress to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) today, calling for the Senate to affirm the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.
“The ERA will create stronger legal recourse against sex discrimination, empower Congress to better enforce and enact laws protecting women, and confirm the rightful place of gender equality in the Constitution,” the Members wrote.
“For the answer to why the ERA is so important, we need look no further than the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia who said, “Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It does not.” The lack of an ERA allowed a Supreme Court Justice to have this interpretation. The lack of an ERA also puts us woefully behind our allies. Of 193 UN member states, 165 explicitly guarantee equality or non-discrimination based on sex and/or gender in their Constitutions, yet we fail to do the same,” the Members wrote.
The letter received endorsements from the ERA Coalition, Feminist Majority Foundation, the League of Women Voters, the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV), the National Organization for Women (NOW), the National Organization for Women - New York City (NOW-NYC), and the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW).
To view a pdf copy of the signed letter, click here.
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