Difference between revisions of "Equal Rights Amendment"
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:SECTION 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of [[sex | sex]]. | :SECTION 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of [[sex | sex]]. | ||
| − | :SECTION 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. | + | :SECTION 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. |
:SECTION 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification. | :SECTION 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification. | ||
Revision as of 22:34, August 24, 2007
The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution passed by Congress in 1972 and sent to the states for ratification within a deadline of seven years. The amendment, which was untitled, stated:
- SECTION 1. 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 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
- SECTION 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
The purpose and effect of the Amendment would be to prohibit many legal distinctions between men and women, and boys and girls. An all-male draft or male-only combat regimens would presumably become illegal. But equal representation of boys and girls on sports teams, and the termination of all-boys or all-girls sports teams, would probably not be required, since the courts usually treat some gender distinctions as a bona fida operating qualification for which discrimination is allowed.
35 out of 38 states passed this amendment, but opposition led by Phyllis Schlafly then defeated it.[1] Congress then extended the deadline to 1982 in legislation that a court later invalidated, but no more states passed the amendment in the additional three years anyway. Several states rescinded their prior passage of the amendment.
History
In 1923, three years after women won the right to vote, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first introduced in Congress and rejected in every one of its sessions until 1972.[2]
It was initially authored by Alice Paul, head of the National Women's Party, who led the suffrage campaign. The original version of the ERA stated that "Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction."
Advocacy
Much of the advocacy for the Equal Rights Amendment is baseless. For example, a pro-ERA site claims that "[t]he new Constitution's promised rights were fully enjoyed only by certain white males. Women were treated according to social tradition and English common law and were denied most legal rights. In general they could not vote, own property, keep their own wages, or even have custody of their children."[3]
In fact, the U.S. Constitution has never discriminated against women. It has always been gender-neutral.
Canadian Equivalent
The Canadian equivalent to the Equal Rights Amendment is known as Charter Section 28. It was ratified as a section of the constitution in 1982, and came into effect in 1985. Since then, many laws have been invalidated because they were in violation of Charter Section 28.
References
- ↑ Testimony in 2007 by Phyllis Schlafly against the Equal Rights Amendment is here.
- ↑ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/2003/ms003077.pdf
- ↑ http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/era.htm
