Democrats Abroad wants to know what issues matter to you as a Democrat living abroad. Your input can help shape DA’s 2024 Platform. Run a Kitchen Table Talk - information here - and make your voice heard! Scroll down to see details on this topic. Don't see what you are looking for? Add your own topic through the Kitchen Table Talk New Topic form.
DISCUSSION QUESTION
-
Do you support campaigns which encourage the President and Congress to publish the Equal Rights Amendment?
BACKGROUND
-
The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly grant equal rights to women;
-
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution was first introduced in Congress in 1923, Congress passed the ERA in 1972 and, as required by the Constitution, sent it to the States for ratification;
-
Only 35 of the required 38 States ratified the amendment to the Constitution by the specified deadline;
-
Nevada ratified the amendment on March 21, 2017, and Illinois ratified the amendment on May 30, 2018, becoming the 36th and 37th state to do so;
-
On January 2020, Virginia ratified the ERA thus fulfilling the requirements in the US Constitution to become the 28th Amendment (the Constitution does not provide for an arbitrary deadline;
-
The Trump administration blocked the US Archivist from publishing the ERA;
-
Women’s rights, including but not limited to reproductive rights, are in jeopardy;
-
Women’s wages are less than 80% of men’s wages and “equal pay for equal work” lacks any form of legal protection;
-
A Constitutional amendment would make explicit that equal rights for women are guaranteed and protected by the law of the land;
-
The amendment addresses rights for all, so would also explicitly guarantee and protect rights for LGBTQ+.
REFERENCES