Women demand equal rights. We need the ERA. On April 28, 2012 American women (and men who respect them) took to the streets at marches and rallies all across the US. In support and recognition of this inspiring national day of action, PDA and our coalition partners are calling upon members of Congress to vote to facilitate ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment through the "three state strategy." Currently, federal and state laws do not and cannot fully protect equal rights for women and girls--and in some cases men and boys--under the law. This is because discrimination on account of sex is not barred by the Constitution. Antonin Scalia, Betty Ford, Patricia Ireland, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter have all asserted that the ERA is necessary for constitutional protection of equal rights for all.

We would like you to do two things:

• Tell your Senator and Representative, "It doesn't matter if you are Republican, Democrat or Independent. You should vote for equality under the law. This is not a partisan issue."
• Share the Action Alert on email, Facebook and Twitter

There are no excuses for inequality. Congress imposed and then extended the ERA ratification deadline; however the deadline is not within the text of the ERA. Nothing prevents Congress from lifting the deadline.There is no mention of time limits anywhere in the Constitution.The time limit was already extended once which proves that Congress is not bound by a preceding Congress’ actions. The 27th Amendment was ratified after 203 years and did not have to start over from the beginning; it picked up where it had left off. Both the Senate and House have Joint Resolutions promoting the "three-state strategy," which would pass by simple majority vote in each.

A brief history of the ERA. American heroine, Dr. Alice Paul, introduced the ERA in 1923 at the 75th anniversary celebration of the 1848 Woman's Rights Convention. The ERA was introduced in Congress for 49 years, and was repeatedly endorsed by both major parties. The Republican Party platform endorsed the ERA every four years from 1940 to 1980. President Dwight Eisenhower asked a joint session of Congress to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in 1958. Congress passed the ERA in 1972, with an arbitrary 7-year deadline, and sent it to the states for ratification. The deadline was later extended to 1982. 35 states have ratified the ERA--just three short of the 38 needed for ratification. A new constitutional amendment with no deadline has been introduced for the past 30 years, but has never had even a committee hearing. Even so, state-level action to ratify the ERA continues. For example, the Virginia Senate voted to ratify the ERA in 2011 and 2012.

Support the ERA 3 State Strategy now!

ERA - ERA Action Articles