It’s 2023, and you may not believe this, but American women still do not have the basic constitutional protections that every man in America enjoys. This ridiculous and offensive injustice is even worse than it sounds. More than three years ago, the Equal Rights Amendment, which would right this grievous wrong, was ratified by Virginia. The Old Dominion was the 38th state to ratify the ERA, satisfying the constitutional threshold for adoption. And yet, because of an arbitrary deadline Congress placed on its adoption, and the callous inaction of all branches of the American government, the ERA has not yet been added to the Constitution as the 28th amendment.
On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on a joint resolution which would override that unnecessary deadline. While I strongly believe no congressional action is required — President Joe Biden simply needs to direct the nation’s archivist to publish the already-ratified ERA to make it part of the Constitution — this hearing is incredibly important in the effort to achieve basic constitutional equality for more than half of the American population.
I want my daughter, Bella, to grow up knowing she has the same rights as every man in this country.
It will once again highlight the importance of the ERA for all Americans and for the potential of our nation to live up to the first three words of our Constitution: “we the people.” Not we the men. We the people. In doing so, the United States would join the 85% of nations that guarantee equality or nondiscrimination on the basis of sex and/or gender in their own constitutions.
Since the earliest days of our nation, women have fought for inclusion in our founding document. Abigail Adams admonished her husband, John Adams, to “remember the ladies.” From Seneca Falls to suffragettes and Alice Paul, from Shirley Chisholm and Gloria Steinem to the inspiring young women, queer activists and allies of the new millennium, we have pleaded…
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