Lauren Underwood For Congress [[link removed]]
John, this email is a little bit longer than one we typically send, but trust us, it’s for a very important reason. We hope you’ll read on.

Last Thursday, Democrats in Congress renewed efforts to move the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) forward and finalize its place in the U.S. Constitution, putting the issue of gender equality front and center.

As we all know, this historic measure holds more significance now than ever post Roe . Even though Pew Research Center found that 80% of Americans support its addition to the Constitution — no surprise here — Republicans consider the ERA a threat to their inhumane and out-of-touch desire to systematically eliminate our fundamental rights, including reproductive and LGBTQ+ freedoms.

Here’s a recap of the ERA and its course since 1923:

December 13, 1923:

*
The
ERA
is
introduced
as
the
28th
Amendment
in
the
Constitution
to
protect
women
and
other
marginalized
genders
from
discrimination
(see
the
image
of
this
historic
document
from
the
National
Archives
at
the
end
of
this
email).

March 22, 1972

*
The
constitutionally
required
two-thirds
of
both
the
House
and
the
Senate
approved
the
measure,
submitting
the
ERA
to
its
next
required
step:
ratification
by
at
least
38
states.

May 30, 2018

*
The
ERA
remained
at
a
standstill
for
nearly
40
years.
Following
Illinois’
ratification
in
2018,
Virginia
followed
suit
in
2020
and
the
ERA
reached
the
required
38-state
ratification
requirement.
Illinois’
leadership
and
a
powerful
coalition
of
advocates
for
the
ERA
across
the
country
made
it
happen.

Nearly 100 years since the ERA’s introduction

*
The
White
House
has
yet
to
recognize
the
ERA
as
our
28th
Amendment
—
it
must
be
published
by
the
U.S.
archivist,
as
part
of
their
ministerial
duties,
for
it
to
be
officially
adopted.
It
boils
down
to
a
simple
matter
of
completing
the
paperwork.
*
Now
that
Congress
is
deciding
its
fate,
Republicans
have
launched
attack
after
attack
to
block
and
derail
progress.

We know exactly why Republicans in Congress are going through so much trouble to obstruct the ERA’s guarantee of equal rights for all Americans regardless of sex. The party of chaos knows that passing the amendment could fuel our fight for reproductive freedom and help protect abortion rights so they’re fighting us every step of the way.

The bottom line:
The ERA has satisfied the necessary constitutional requirements for its addition to the U.S. Constitution. The law will enshrine equal rights in the Constitution as stated in the amendment: “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

John, Illinois and advocates have helped get the Equal Rights Amendment this far. Now, a century since its introduction, we need more voices to amplify the call for the White House to officially recognize the ERA as our 28th Amendment. Will you sign your name to our petition — in the name of constitutional equality — calling on the White House to finish the job?

SIGN YOUR NAME [[link removed]]

Thank you for joining our call. We can get this done if we work together.

— Team Underwood

P.S. Here’s the joint resolution of the Equal Rights Amendment dated December 13, 1923:

[link removed] [[link removed]]
Lauren Underwood for Congress
13400 S. Route 59
Suite 116 Box 248
Plainfield, IL 60585
United States
www.underwoodforcongress.com [[link removed]] | [email protected] [[email protected]]
PAID FOR BY LAUREN UNDERWOOD FOR CONGRESS
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