Then-Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N..Y) talks to ERA supporters outside a federal court on Sept. 28, 2022, in Washington, D.C., following oral arguments in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals over an ERA-related lawsuit. (Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images)
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BY ALLY DICKSON | The “ERA YES” buttons are green—the color of money—signaling the huge role that economic issues play in the ERA. But in a world where hard-won rights to freedom are being rolled back, the Equal Rights Amendment means much more than equal pay, said Lisa Sales, president of Virginia National Organization for Women (NOW).
The iconic green buttons were worn by many in the crowd at the Radical Optimism Conference on Jan. 26, hosted by former U.S. Rep Carolyn Maloney and now-president of New York state NOW, at the Hunter College Roosevelt House in New York City. Political activists from around the state rallied for recognition of the federal ERA, made plans for securing a New York state constitutional amendment, plotted strategies for the 2024 elections and committed themselves to showing strong support by recruiting signers for the national ERA petition, Sign4ERA.org.
“In 2024, women’s rights will be on the ballot,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority and longtime leader in the fight for the ERA. She explained that putting the ERA into the Constitution could permanently guarantee reproductive rights in all states.
The ERA passed Congress in 1972 with the needed two-thirds vote of the U.S. House and Senate. The required three-fourths of the state legislatures then ratified the ERA when Virginia became the 38th state in 2020.
Now ERA leaders in Congress are working to pass resolutions to recognize the ERA and for the archivist to publish it as the 28th Amendment. (Click here to read more) |
