FEMINISTING

UNITED 4 EQUALITY

By Jessica | Published: November 15, 2011

United 4 Equality is an organization whose goal is to get the Equal Rights Amendment into the constitution by 2015. This past June, some of us may know about the Wal-Mart sex discrimination suit and how well that turned out. But Justice Scalia, however much I don't like him, became a savior for the ERA. He told a reporter why he judged the way he did. Surely the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex, but the question is does it prohibit it? It doesn't.

Because Scalia said this comment, it acted as a wake-up call for women to demand full constitutional equality in this country. A few days after the Wal-Mart case, Representative (D) Carolyn Maloney and Senator (D) Robert Menendez introduced the Equal Rights Amendment H.J. Res 69, that would start the process all over again.

But the question is....do we have to?

On June 30th, 1982, the artificial deadline imposed on the ERA came about and the process expired. But all we have to do is look at the Madison Amendment (concerning congressional pay), which took over 203 years to ratify. It was initially to be part of the Bill of Rights but was finally ratified in 1992.

On March 8, 2011, Representative Tammy Baldwin introduced the ERA H.J. Res 47, which would just lift the deadline and make ERA part of the constitution when 3 more states ratify. It is this approach that the organization, United 4 Equality, is fighting for.

We don't need to wait another century for equal rights. We can do this now. That is why Carolyn Cook, CEO of United 4 Equality, started this organization.

We can see ERA in our lifetimes, but this organization needs some financial help. If you can donate $10, that would go a long way, here is the link. We only need 3 more states to ratify. We can do this.

LINK TO ARTICLE: http://feministing.com/2011/11/15/united-4-equality/