By Faye Higbee,
Democrats are attempting to resurrect the ERA – or “Equal Rights Amendment” to push their radical ideology. It was not fully ratified by 1982, with only 35 states, and 3 more states ratified it AFTER the deadline. Now two Dems, Rep. Cori Bush, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, want to push forward a bill that says it was ratified and force the National Archivist to certify and publish it as law.
Congress passed the ERA in 1972 with a seven-year deadline for ratification, but only 35 states ratified it by 1982, falling short of the required three-quarters of states. Democratic New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Democratic Missouri Rep. Cori Bush will introduce a proposal Thursday which ignores the deadline, states that the ERA has already been ratified as the 28th Amendment and urges the National Archivist to certify and publish it immediately, according to the NYT.
“For us, it is already done. The E.R.A. is the 28th Amendment. We just need the archivist to publish it,” Bush said, according to the NYT. Daily Caller
The ERA states that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.” It also gives the Federal Government enforcement authority.
The original ERA was introduced in 1923, three years after the 19th Amendment gave women the legal right to vote. Forty-nine years later and with a deadline attached, it was ratified by only 35 states by June of 1982. The required quota of three other states was ratified in 2020 after the original deadline. Dems will ignore the deadline to show that it was legally ratified. What about gender “identity,” and what kind of a mess would that be? A big one.
Since the ERA failed then, women have made giant-sized leaps forward – without a particular amendment. They won Title IX that transgenders are attempting to destroy. Hundreds of thousands of women have succeeded in breaking that “glass ceiling” — all without any special amendment. There are women police officers now. There are women doctors, firefighters, pilots, and military service members in combat roles…women who have fought hard and didn’t need a special amendment. The problem is that the language of the Amendment could allow the legal erasure of women entirely – because of the transgender issue.
Women in many sports have fought to keep biological men out of their competitions and locker rooms. The International Cycling Unit (UCI) recently banned transgenders from participating in Women’s Cycling. The ERA would seriously cripple women’s sports. Transgenders have caused a sticking point in women’s advances from schools to colleges to professional sports. The ERA would only exacerbate that problem. It’s all good to talk about “equal rights” for women, but when push comes to shove, we will have no rights if the ERA is revived.
In the end, it is a typical liberal strategy. If things don’t go your way, change the rules.
Cross-Posted with Conservative Firing Line
