Dear friend,

Breaking news: the Virginia legislature just passed the Equal Rights
Amendment, making it the 38th state to approve it -- enough to ratify the
ERA and make it part of the U.S. Constitution!^1 

But we need Congress's help to finish the job. The House Judiciary
Committee has already voted to repeal an old law that had required the ERA
to be ratified by 1982.^2 That law may not be enforceable, but Congress
should repeal it anyway. (We can't trust the Supreme Court on this one.)
Can you help add public pressure to ensure the full Congress helps finally
get the ERA ratified?

[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition: Tell Congress to repeal the time limit and help the
Equal Rights Amendment become part of the Constitution!

After decades of activism, Congress finally passed an Equal Rights
Amendment and sent it to the states for ratification in 1972. Most states
quickly ratified it. But by the late 1970s, right-wing backlash had begun
and ratification stalled. With 35 states having ratified it, the ERA was
three states short in 1982.

Recently the ERA has been revived, thanks in part to Donald Trump
reminding America of the pervasive, persistent sexism in American life.
Nevada ratified the ERA in 2017, and Illinois ratified it in
2018. Virginia's ratification brought the total to 38 states — enough to
meet the Constitutional requirement of three-fourths of the states
approving a constitutional amendment.

Congress may not even be able to put a time limit on ratifying an
amendment. After all, the most recent addition to the Constitution, the
27th Amendment governing Congressional pay increases, was approved in 1992
- literally two hundred years after it had first been sent to the states
for ratification.

Still, conservative and anti-feminist forces will likely pick a court
fight, and we can't rely on Trump's Supreme Court to do the right thing.
That's why it's important for Congress to proactively repeal the 1970s-era
time limit law and help ensure ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

The House Judiciary Committee's recent vote was a major step in the right
direction. Now we need your help to pressure the entire Congress to act.
Will you help?

[ [link removed] ]Add your name: Tell Congress to help ratify the Equal Rights Amendment!

Thank you for taking action for equal rights.

Robert and the team at Demand Progress

 

[ [link removed] ]DONATE

Sources:
1. Associated Press, "Virginia Becomes Critical 38th State to Ratify Equal
Rights Amendment," [ [link removed] ]January 27, 2020. 
2. Vox, "House Democrats took a big step to get the Equal Rights Amendment
moving again," [ [link removed] ]November 13, 2019.
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