Equal Rights Amendment North Carolina Alliance
It's Time to Write Women Into the Constitution!
We’re looking forward to seeing you in Raleigh on March 26 at the North Carolina General Assembly, 16 W. Jones St.! Bring your signs and energy and talking points as we rally for equality and visit our legislators in their offices.
We’re excited that new ERA ratification bills will be introduced that day by our ERA Champions, Representatives Julie von Haefen, Mary Belk, Lindsey Prather and Renee Price, and Senators Julie Mayfield, Natalie Murdock and Woodson Bradley.
Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, North Carolina still has a ban on the books regarding same-sex marriage.
State Rep. Deb Butler’s first proposal, House Bill 174, would obliterate the ban and affirm the federal protections of all married couples, regardless of gender.
The second bill, House Bill 175, seeks a state constitutional amendment explicitly safeguarding marriage equality in North Carolina. This amendment would ensure protection even if the federal Supreme Court has second thoughts.
“Deb Butler has long been a champion for Equal Rights, so it came as no surprise to see her seek a state constitutional amendment to protect same-sex marriage in North Carolina,” said Marla Barthen, ERA-NC Alliance co-president and Butler’s constituent. “If you know her, you know she does not yield or back down on matters of equality.”
Given a shifting federal judiciary, North Carolina has the power to fortify civil rights protections for all its citizens. Butler said, “Marriage equality is a settled issue for the vast majority of Americans, and our state should reflect that reality. These bills are about ensuring dignity, security and legal protection for all families in the face of uncertainty at the federal level.”
We applaud Rep. Deb Butler for her strong support of human rights, from same-sex marriage security to equality for all through the 28th Amendment, formerly known as the Equal Rights Amendment.
THE ‘SAVE’ ACT ENDANGERS WOMEN VOTERS
Does the name on your birth certificate match the name you go by today? Or did your last name change when you married?
If the names don’t match, the federal SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) would require proof on paper that you are a U.S. citizen before you can register to vote or update your voter registration information. You’d have to dig up your birth certificate or show a passport or some other proof of citizenship. This is totally unnecessary, as state election officials already have systems in place to verify your status as a citizen.
The SAVE Act is simply legislation playing politics. Half of us in this country don’t own passports. Your birth certificate may have drowned in a flood. And if you’re a married woman who took her husband’s name, good luck hunting for the right pieces of paper to prove you are you. In fact, the SAVE Act makes no mention of being able to show a marriage certificate or change-of-name documentation.
Women and citizens of color are most vulnerable to this kind of discrimination. The Center for American Progress notes that as many as 69 million women who have taken their spouse’s name do not have a birth certificate matching their legal name.
CALL OR WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATORS AND TELL THEM TO VOTE NO! ON THE SAVE ACT
Find your U.S. Representative’s and Senators’ contact information here
On Friday, January 17, 2025, President Biden issued a historic opinion on the Equal Rights Amendment, confirming that the amendment has met all the Article V requirements to amend the Constitution, and that it should be published immediately as the 28th Amendment.
This opinion supersedes that of the Trump-era Office of Legal Counsel preventing the National Archivist from certifying Virginia’s 2020 ratification of the ERA, as he had for the Nevada (2017) and Illinois (2018) ratifications. As Virginia was the 38th and final state needed to ratify, the ERA is therefore the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The text of the Equal Rights Amendment simply reads: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”
The ERA allows the courts to apply the strictest scrutiny in gender discrimination cases, and it gives us the foundation we need to build a more equitable state and nation.
The ERA-NC Alliance thanks all the activists over the years who have never given up on the Equal Rights Amendment, from our lead and member organizations, the ERA Champions in Congress and the North Carolina General Assembly, our Alliance founders and leadership past and present to all our dedicated members and advocates. We thank you all for the arduous and continued work to get here.
Now we roll up our sleeves and start implementing the ERA.
This morning President Biden issued his opinion that the Equal Rights Amendment is in fact the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution! Here’s his statement:
“I have supported the Equal Rights Amendment for more than 50 years, and I have long been clear that no one should be discriminated against based on their sex. We, as a nation, must affirm and protect women’s full equality once and for all.
On January 27, 2020, the Commonwealth of Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized that the Equal Rights Amendment has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment. I agree with the ABA and with leading legal constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution.
It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.”
Thank you for staying engaged, for calling, for texting, for keeping the pressure on the Biden-Harris administration to enshrine the ERA in the Constitution! Now we roll up our sleeves to start implementing the ERA!
Write a postcard to President Biden. Ask him to instruct the Federal Archivist to PUBLISH our fully ratified Equal Rights Amendment, the 28th Amendment!!
Address:
President Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
You can also call the White House at (202) 456-1111, or text (302) 404-0880.
Time is short! President Biden must do this before January 20th!
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Gender equality shouldn’t wait any longer! We’ve met all requirements for the Equal Rights Amendment to be part of the Constitution. Now it’s time for President Biden to cement his legacy as a champion for gender equality and do everything he can to make sure it’s published before the end of his presidency. You can also help us spread the word about this campaign via social media. We need everyone who cares about gender equality to rally for the ERA.
You can also use these reminders from ERA-NC Alliance member and attorney, Gina Collias:
1. No 7 year deadline is in the text of the ERA, so this ‘7 years’ business is GOP disinformation.
2. No state can ever rescind an amendment under Article V. Think prohibition. It came in with an amendment, and it had to be repealed by a separate amendment.
#PublishTheERA ASAP!
On behalf of the ERA-NC Alliance, we deeply thank you for your support and advocacy for the Equal Rights Amendment. We invite you to join us for our annual meeting on the status of the Amendment and Alliance activities in 2024, as well as elections of officers for 2025-2026. [Read more…] about 2024 Annual Meeting
RATIFIED is a feature documentary about the 100-year struggle for constitutional gender equality, and it’s an inspiring story of a multi-racial, multi-generational, bi-partisan effort to make Virginia the 38th and final state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. It’s also a story of how bureaucracy is used to stifle progress, and it takes a close look at the incredible perseverance of women – specifically, the Black women leaders who have taken their rightful place at the front of the movement for gender equality. Our impact campaign will activate 15,000,000 Americans on the issue of gender equality.
Every two years, the ERA-NC Alliance reaches out to EVERY North Carolina candidate running for Congress, the General Assembly and NC Council of State to determine their support for the Equal Rights Amendment. This year our survey is being conducted online, with follow up phone calls and visits to collect as complete a picture of candidates’ support for the ERA as possible before we all cast our votes in November.
A green checkmark means the candidate will co-sponsor and vote for the resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Many candidates also returned comments with their survey.
If the candidates on your ballot haven’t responded yet, ask them to respond to the survey! A request from a voter in their district may be all it takes to spur them to action.
[Read more…] about 2024 Candidate Survey
Our goal for 2024? Turn the NCGA “pro-ERA”
Turning the NCGA “pro-women” means an all-out effort from everyone.
First things first: Find out the hard facts about the N.C. political landscape. Then, use those facts to turn the NCGA.
Join us on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 11 a.m., as political science expert Michael Bitzer sheds light on North Carolina voting patterns and what we can expect for 2024. Zoom in with us for the maps, the candidates, the drama, the scoop!