Equal Rights Amendment North Carolina Alliance

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Press Release 6/2/18

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Illinois becomes 37th state to ratify the ERA
Will North Carolina be the 38th?

Durham, NC – On May 30, 2018, the Illinois House of Representatives voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, making it the 37th of 38 states need to guarantee women in the United States full protection under the Constitution.

Efforts have been underway in North Carolina to ratify the ERA as well, with bills introduced in the 2015-16 and 2017-18 sessions. On May 31st, additional ratifying bills were introduced in both the NC House and Senate. Senators Floyd McKissick and Terry Van Duyn are primary sponsors of S782, which explains why the ERA is still viable for ratification today, and allocates $10,000 to educate the public about the act. In the House, Representatives Carla Cunningham, Susan Fisher, Evelyn Terry and Deb Butler are primary sponsors of the companion bill H1072.

Links to new bills:
S782: www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2017/Bills/Senate/PDF/S782v1.pdf
H1072: www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2017/Bills/House/PDF/H1072v1.pdf

A 2016 poll found nearly universal support (94%) for guaranteeing women equal rights under the Constitution. Nearly 80% of those polled mistakenly believed that was already the case. However, the late Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, made it clear that justices following a constitutionalist philosophy believe that women are not protected under the Constitution, and that the founders did not intend that they be protected under the document.

The ERA-NC Alliance is conducting a statewide educational campaign about the need for the Constitutional amendment, which is anticipated to eventually guarantee equality for men and women under the law and in the workplace, and strengthen protection against gender-based violence.

ERA-NC Alliance Co-Presidents Marena Groll and Roberta Madden are available for interviews.

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About the ERA-NC Alliance:

The ERA-NC Alliance (www.era-nc.org) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization seeking ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. constitution. Membership is open to individuals and organizations committed to ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Lead organizations include the American Association of University Women of NC, Democratic Women of NC, League of Women Voters of NC, NC4ERA, NC Business and Professional Women, NC National Organization for Women, NC Women United, Ratify ERA- NC the Women’s Forum of NC and the YWCA of Asheville. The Alliance operates in direct collaboration with the national ERA Coalition (www.eracoalition.org).

Audio from ERA Press Conference

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NC Senator Floyd McKissick
NC Sen. Floyd McKissick
NC Senator Terry Van Duyn
NC Sen. Terry Van Duyn

This afternoon, ERA ratification bill sponsor, Senator Floyd McKissick, Jr. and co-sponsor Terry Van Duyn, took part in a press conference about women’s rights bills filed at the statehouse. Like Illinois Rep. Lou Lang, Senator McKissick has also been a tireless advocate for women’s constitutional equality, introducing the bill year after year, and he has our deepest gratitude!

Senator Van Duyn credits ERA-NC Alliance co-President, Roberta Madden, for showing her that the ERA was still a viable amendment.

This afternoon, ERA ratification bill (S. 782) sponsor, Senator Floyd McKissick, Jr. and co-sponsor Terry Van Duyn, took part in a press conference about women’s rights bills filed at the statehouse, moderated by Senator Erica Smith.

The ERA portion of the conference is available for you to listen to below,:

Illinois becomes the 37th!

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Illinois ratified the Equal Rights Amendment by a vote of 72-45 on the evening of May 30th, 2018, becoming the 37th state to ratify!! This means just one more state needs to ratify to get the amendment into the Constitution!

Representative Lou Lang, a longtime ERA advocate, spoke passionately on the floor as the House debated passage of the ratification bill, calling it a no-brainer and an opportunity for Illinois to improve the lives of half the population of the United States. “Is the Illinois House for or against adding 161 million American citizens to the U.S. Constitution where they absolutely belong?” he asked. “A ‘no’ vote is a vote against the right of women in the United States of America.”

Opponents argued that ratification would allow easier access to abortion and that women of color wouldn’t see the same gains as white women.

The Illinois Senate passed the ratification bill on April 12th.

Game On, North Carolina! #OneMoreState!

 

ERA Postcard Drop

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We’re collecting postcards to deliver to the NC House and Senate Rules Committee chairmen urging them to hold a hearing on the ERA ratification bills currently sitting idle in their committees!

Download the cards below (they come 4 to a page, landscape), print them out and invite your friends and family, work colleagues and acquaintances to sign on! We’re collecting the cards and will deliver them en masse to the Chairmen personally in the coming weeks.

Congressional District 10 Action Team leader, Jimmie Cochran Pratt, and ERA-NC Alliance Board Member, Anne Von Brock, recently made a night of it, printing the cards out and getting them ready to distribute!

You can also make phone calls now, we have the phone numbers and suggestions for what to say when you call here: “The NCGA is Back in Session”.

 

CD 5 Action Team

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Join our Candidate Calling Project!

We are calling all candidates for the Congressional 5th District (CD 5) and all NC General Assembly candidates whose districts fall within the CD 5 footprint. First up – the candidates with primary races.

The ERA-NC Alliance will post candidates’ responses – whether they support North Carolina’s ratification of the ERA or not – to the website.

Contact Audrey Muck to join the effort!

Wisdom of Women

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Critical Issues Seminar: Wisdom of Women 
Saturday, April 14, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Guilford College United Methodist Church
1205 Fleming Road, Greensboro

The NC Council of Churches’ 2018 Critical Issues Seminar will focus on women. The theme will cover topics such as the Equal Rights Amendments, sexual harassment and work place policy, elected office, health care, and public education. Be sure to check out ERA workshop!!

The seminar will begin with opening worship led by the Rev. Dr. Donna Coletrane Battle. Donna is a native of Yanceyville, NC and currently serves as the chaplain at Meredith College. Following worship, Anita Earls will deliver this year’s keynote address. Anita is a civil rights attorney with 30 years’ experience litigating voting rights and other civil rights cases in partnership with community-based organizations. She was the founder and Executive Director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, but recently left that position to run for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court. 

Registration information and a list of available workshops can be found at the link. General admission is $25, but a discounted price of $15 is available for students. http://bit.do/NCCCWow

 

ERA Resolution for Republican Precincts

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For those of you active in the Republican Party, here’s a resolution to take to your precinct meetings to gain the support of your county for ERA ratification by North Carolina!

Download the resolution as a Word document: 2018 ERA Resolution Republican Precincts

 

Text of the resolution:

A RESOLUTION CALLING FOR HEARINGS AND RATIFICATION OF THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT  

WHEREAS, Women, who constitute over 51% of the population of North Carolina, continue to confront workplace discrimination; health care inequities; disparate rates of poverty; rape and domestic violence assaults; a lack of political parity; and

WHEREAS, Anti-discrimination state laws are not uniform and federal laws are not comprehensive; additionally, these laws can be repealed or reduced; and

WHEREAS, The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is needed to help correct systemic sex discrimination, since the US Constitution does not explicitly guarantee that all the rights that it protects are held equally by all citizens without regard to sex; and

WHEREAS, The ERA was proposed in 1923, passed by Congress in 1972 and ratified by 35 of the 38 states necessary to put it into the Constitution as of a June 30, 1982 time limit; and

WHEREAS, Irrespective of a time limit for ratification, the Nevada Legislature ratified the ERA with a bipartisan vote on March 22, 2017, becoming the thirty-sixth state to ratify the amendment; and

WHEREAS, Congress can alter time limits in the proposing clauses of amendments, and the deadline for the ERA appeared only in the preamble and not in the text of the amendment; and

WHEREAS, Fifteen municipalities across North Carolina have adopted resolutions of support for the ERA in 2017; and

WHEREAS, ERA bills were introduced into both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly in 2015 and 2017; were assigned to Judiciary and/or Rules Committees, but were not considered in hearings; and

WHEREAS, The North Carolina Republican Party believes in equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age or disability; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the North Carolina Republican Party will prioritize advocating that the General Assembly hold committee hearings upon like ratification bills and all Republicans will pursue ratification of the ERA to the US Constitution as proposed by Congress on March 22, 1972.

Submitted to the _________________ County Republican Party by (name)_________________________________, Precinct #_____, _________________ County February __, 2018. E-mail address: ________________________________________

ERA Resolution for Democratic Precincts

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For those of you active in the Democratic Party, here’s a resolution to take to your precinct meetings to gain the support of your county for ERA ratification by North Carolina!

Download the resolution as a Word document: 2018 ERA Resolution Democratic Precincts

 

Text of document:

A RESOLUTION CALLING FOR HEARINGS AND RATIFICATION OF THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT 

WHEREAS, Women, who constitute over 51% of the population of North Carolina, continue to confront workplace discrimination; health care inequities; disparate rates of poverty;  rape and domestic violence assaults; a lack of political parity; and

WHEREAS, Anti-discrimination state laws are not uniform and federal laws are not comprehensive; additionally, these laws can be repealed or reduced; and

WHEREAS, The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is needed to help correct systemic sex discrimination, since the US Constitution does not explicitly guarantee that all the rights that it protects are held equally by all citizens without regard to sex; and

WHEREAS, The ERA was proposed in 1923, passed by Congress in 1972 and ratified by 35 of the 38 states necessary to put it into the Constitution as of a June 30, 1982 time limit; and

WHEREAS, Irrespective of a time limit for ratification, the Nevada Legislature ratified the ERA with a bipartisan vote on March 22, 2017, becoming the thirty-sixth state to ratify the amendment; and

WHEREAS, Congress can alter time limits in the proposing clauses of amendments, and the deadline for the ERA appeared only in the preamble and not in the text of the amendment; and

WHEREAS, Sixteen municipalities and/or counties across North Carolina have adopted resolutions of support for the ERA; and

WHEREAS, ERA bills were introduced into both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly in 2015 and 2017; were assigned to Judiciary and/or Rules Committees, but were not considered in hearings; and

WHEREAS, The North Carolina Democratic Party Platform calls for a renewed effort to ratify the ERA; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the North Carolina Democratic Party will prioritize advocating that the General Assembly hold committee hearings upon ratification bills like those introduced in 2015 and 2017, and all Democrats will pursue ratification of the ERA to the US Constitution as proposed by Congress on March 22, 1972.

Submitted to the _________________ County Democratic Party by (name)_________________________________, Precinct #_____, _________________ County February __, 2018. E-mail address: ________________________________________

 

Informative Sources: ERA-NC Alliance era-nc.org; ERA equalrightsamendment.org; US Census Bureau census.gov/quickfacts/NC; ERA Coalition eracoalition.org; NCDP Platform Preamble tinyurl.com/ya3f5rfc