Today in Herstory: Americans Want the ERA! (9 april 1975)
(FORTY YEARS later, we are STILLLLLLLL waiting. but, there is NO war on women!)
Today in Herstory: Americans Want the ERA!
April 9, 1975: Public support for the Equal Rights Amendment remains overwhelming, according to a Gallup Poll released today.
First Lady Betty Ford wearing a large “Ratify E.R.A. in 1975″ button on February 26th as an honored guest of the Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic Celebrities Golf Tournament in Hollywood, Florida.
Fifty-eight per cent of the 1,542 respondents polled between March 7th and 10th said they favored the Constitutional amendment which would permanently and explicitly ban all forms of sex discrimination, while just 24% were opposed, and 18% had no opinion.
Support for the E.R.A. was strongest among those under 30 and those in the East (both 67%). Men were actually more supportive (63%) than women (54%) though clear majorities of both groups favored it. Opposition was greatest among women over 50, only 46% of whom supported it and in the South, though even there, 52% were in favor.
The E.R.A, written by Alice Paul, was first endorsed by the National Woman’s Party on July 21, 1923, introduced into the U.S. Senate on December 10, 1923 by Senator Charles Curtis, and into the House on December 13, 1923, by Representative Daniel Anthony (a nephew of Susan B.). Both men were Kansas Republicans. It has had the support of the Republican Party since 1940, Democrats since 1944 and every President since Harry Truman took office in 1945. First Lady Betty Ford is an especially active supporter.
The E.R.A. was passed by the House on October 12, 1971, by a vote of 354-23, then by the Senate on March 22, 1972, by 84-8. A separate resolution, not in the text of the amendment itself, has given it until March 22, 1979 to gain the approval of 3/4 (38) of the 50 state legislatures. None of the first 17 amendments had a deadline, nor did the 19th.
. . . . .
Almost 187 years after the Constitution took effect on June 21, 1788, it’s long past time for gender bias to be explicitly and permanently prohibited. Laws that discriminate against women – or men – should not be judged according to some uncertain standard that changes with every new Supreme Court appointment.
The E.R.A. has three sections:
Section One: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Section Two: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section Three: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
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