Equal Rights Amendment North Carolina Alliance

It's Time to Write Women Into the Constitution!

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Photos & Video of the Clothesline Project

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May 16, 2019 – ERA-NC Alliance members set up a clothesline at the NC General Assembly to show off all the municipalities, counties and organization resolutions – as well as hundreds of petition signatures – in favor of ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment. Several of the bill co-sponsors dropped by, and we chatted with many state employees about the fact that women are not formally protected under the US Constitution. So many people believe the amendment was ratified in the ’70’s! Sadly, several members of the NCGA leadership passed us by with a dismissive ‘you don’t need it’ comment, and refused to stop and talk with us. We need to get their attention and hold real conversations about why women in North Carolina and across the country should be in the constitution!

Photos courtesy Mike Oniffrey

Make Mama Happy!

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Want to Make Mama Happy on Mother’s Day?
 
Simple! Flowers, candy and cards are wonderful. But what Mom really wants is for her family to be stronger, happier and more secure. Mom wants the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment! North Carolina can be the final, happy 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. 
 
Donate to the ERA-NC Alliance, and help assure equal rights for ALL family members regardless of gender.  
You can give online here. Or go to www.era-nc.org and use the DONATE button.  It’s easy and your Mother’s Day will be happier because of your support! Because of our 501(c)4 status, donations to the ERA-NC Alliance are not tax deductible, but there’s no doubt you’ll want to contribute to our Make Mama Happy campaign!
 
Thank you so much for your help and generosity!  
 
You can also send a check, payable to ERA-NC Alliance, to:
 
ERA-NC Alliance
Make Mama Happy Campaign 
P. O. Box 20222 
Winston-Salem, NC 27120 

Listen Up! ERA on WUNC

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ERA-NC Alliance co-president, Joanna WadeJoanna Wade, co-president of the ERA-NC Alliance, will be interviewed on “The State of Things,” a radio show on WUNC, Thursday, April 18, noon to 12:45 p.m. Frank Stasio is the host.

Other guests include Sen. Terry Van Duyn, a leading proponent in the General Assembly for North Carolina’s ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
 
Angela Robbins, assistant professor of history at Meredith College, will discuss the history of women’s rights nationally and in North Carolina.
 
 

MAKE NC #38

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One More State. #38
Not One More Generation.

We’ve launched our MAKE NC #38 fundraising campaign and ask you to donate:

$3.80
$38.00
$380.00
$3,800.00

or any amount you wish to show your support of the ERA-NC Alliance’s efforts important work of education, advocacy and lobbying during this critical and urgent time.

Click the link to give online. It’s easy!

https://www.era-nc.org/donate-2/

Or send a check payable to ERA-NC Alliance and mail to:

ERA-NC Alliance
MAKE NC #38 Campaign
P. O. Box 20222
Winston-Salem, NC 27120

As a 501(c)4, donations to ERA-NC Alliance are not tax deductible, but we’re sure you’ll want to be part of our MAKE NC #38 Campaign!

Path to Ratification

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Do you wonder how our ERA bills will move forward toward ratification here in North Carolina? Here’s a quick primer on the process and where things stand right now:

  • Make Equality RealityBill Introduced
    • Brief Window for Co-Sponsors Opens
  • 1st Reading in each Chamber.
  • Sent to Committee. Committee hearings are optional, but we hope the committees will choose to hold hearings and vote the bills out of committee and back to the full chamber. If no action is taken, the bill dies in committee. Click on the committee names below, where the ERA has typically been sent, to see who serves on each committee. While you’re there you can see what other bills have been assigned to the committee and subscribe to get email updates about committee actions.
    • House Judiciary Committee.
    • Senate Rules Committee; historically this is the committee bills have been sent to to die, but we have plenty of ERA friends on this committee, too!
  • When a Committee approves a bill, it returns to the full chamber for 2nd Reading & Debate
  • 3rd Reading & More Debate in Chamber
  • Bill Moves to Other Body (repeat process)
  • Other Body Approves Bill
  • Bill is Ratified!

When an amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified by the NC General Assembly, it doesn’t require the Governor’s signature.

In the case of the Equal Rights Amendment, we also need action at the Federal level to lift the time limit unfortunately written into the preamble back in 1972 by North Carolina’s own Senator Sam Ervin. Currently there are bills in Congress to do just that. You can also read and track those online at Congress.gov; just type “Equal Rights Amendment” in the search box and it will bring up what bills are live in this Congressional session. There are bills to lift the time limit as well as bills to start the amendment process over from the beginning. The U.S. House of Representatives has repeatedly passed bills to lift the time limit, but the U.S. Senate continues to squash the sister bill.

ERA advocates have finally achieved the required ratification by 38 states when Virginia ratified on January 27, 2020. Lawsuits are pending by both pro- and anti-ERA forces. The ERA-NC Alliance has signed on to the ERA Coalition’s amici briefs.

We will continue to post updates and calls to action as events unfold! Sign up for our monthly news and action letter to stay up to date on developments.

Ratification Bills Introduced

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Ratification Bills Introduction Day – March 5th, 2019

Bills to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment were introduced in both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly on March 5th. ERA-NC Alliance organized a statewide presence in Raleigh, with ERA advocates from the coast to the mountains on hand to witness the introductions and to encourage every single member of the General Assembly to sign on as a co-sponsor. A panel discussion was held in the NCGA Equal Rights Caucus featuring Eleanor Smeal of the Feminist Majority, and Carol Jenkins and Bettina Hager of the ERA Coalition, with ERA-NC Alliance co-president Joanna Wade as moderator. That was followed by a press conference with the bills’ primary sponsors and many co-sponsors present. A mobile billboard organized by Alliance Lead Organization, League of Women Voters of NC, also circled the capitol throughout the day!

Press Conference video:

Equal Rights Caucus video:

Video courtesy of Brave Lens Films, Inc.