How the Equal Rights Amendment supports LGBTQ+ people
The ERA was originally penned in 1923 by Alice Paul and rewritten in 1943 to read:
“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 ERA was passed by Congress in 1972 and sent to the states for ratification.
When the ERA finally met all of the criteria under Article V of the Constitution in 2020 with Virginia becoming the 38th state to ratify the Amendment, the fear and fight against application of the amendment for the LGBTQ+ community heightened. At that time, President Trump through the Department of Justice ordered the amendment not to be published, attempting to negate its legitimacy to be included in our Amendments to the Constitution. However, publication is a formality, so the law still applies.
During the next 4 years, the dispute over the ERA’s validity dissuaded victims of sex discrimination from citing the ERA in legal cases. In January of this year, President Biden affirmed that the ERA is a part of the US Constitution as the 28th Amendment. LGBTQ+ victims of sex discrimination are beginning to use the ERA in their lawsuits. The first lawsuit was filed in Georgia by a federal employee of the IRS who is transgender and was denied top surgery by their federal insurance company, even though the surgery is covered for cisgender men seeking breast reduction. Cases move slowly through the courts, and this is a case potentially headed to the Supreme Court. More victims of sex discrimination are expected to come forward, even with President Trump’s new term and the specifics of Project 2025 put into place. The President’s actions are unconstitutional because of the 28th Amendment.
What is the ERA-NC Alliance and what is the scope of our work. The Alliance is made up of several lead organizations and individuals in North Carolina that support and advocate for equal rights. The Alliance coordinated a review of all North Carolina laws that had gendered language in order to assist the N.C. General Assembly (NCGA) in meeting Section 3 of the ERA. We were only the second state at the time to take on such a daunting task. Our audit revealed that 45,000 out of 47,000 pages of our laws had gendered language potentially needing remedies to meet Section 3 of the ERA.
The Alliance brought these needed remedies to the attention of the N.C. General Statutes Commission to propose to the N.C. General Assembly. The Commission is responsible for advising the Division of Legislative Drafting in its continuous statutory research and correction in the publication of the General Statutes, and in making a continuing study of all matters involved in the preparation and publication of modern codes of law. The Commission was interested in working on a short list of changes typically made as a technical corrections bill, such as addressing grammar and terminology. An example of such a change is simple terminology like changing “firemen” to “firefighters.” The Commission is made up of both Democrats and Republicans. While they have been receptive of gender-neutral language, they have resisted gender expansive language. The nonpartisan work that the ERA-NC Alliance does in advising the N.C. General Statutes Commission is intricate, yet an important step in implementation of the ERA.
The Alliance also supports discrimination cases brought in the state. Two of our lead organizations, the ACLU of North Carolina and the North Carolina Justice Center, are our main organizations that bring forward sex discrimination cases. We continue to monitor and bring attention to cases as they progress. Recently, the ACLU of North Carolina was able to settle the case against the Cleveland County School Board, which discriminated against a high school student club by prohibiting members from playing a quiz game highlighting famous LGBTQ+ people. We expect more cases of discrimination to happen in this current, inflamed environment.
The ERA-NC Alliance is laying the foundation for an inclusive state equal rights amendment. Other states, such as Nevada and New York, have been successful in expanding non-discrimination protections in their state constitutions to ensure that everyone is protected. In North Carolina, we will need favorable conditions in the state legislature to get such an amendment on the ballot. We already know through the survey we sponsored with the Meredith Poll that North Carolinians overwhelmingly support equal rights. With the current makeup and climate in the North Carolina General Assembly, we know that this is a long-term goal. We are undaunted! We know milestones take perseverance to achieve!
Join us! Support the Alliance’s work. Consider becoming an Individual member of the Alliance. Volunteer with us. Donate to support our projects and activities. Sign up for our newsletter. Share our work with your network. Invite us to speak to your community groups. Help us spread the message: “Equal Rights for All Y’all!”
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