Equal Rights Amendment North Carolina Alliance

It's Time to Write Women Into the Constitution!

Home » ERA » Page 2

ERA

2019 Annual Meeting

by Leave a Comment

You’re invited to attend the
ERA-NC Alliance Annual Meeting

Saturday, October 5, 2019
Noon – 4 pm
(Registration opens at 11:30 am)

Pilgrim United Church of Christ
3011 Academy Road
Durham, NC 27707
pilgrimucc-durham.org

Register for the Annual Meeting HERE.

Katie Hornung

Keynote Speaker: Kati Hornung

Kati Hornung is Campaign Coordinator for the state-wide, nonpartisan, grassroots VAratifyERA campaign working to ensure Virginia’s ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Her passion on the topic stems from her own life experiences and the interest of her two daughters in achieving constitutional equality. We are pleased to welcome her as our keynote speaker.

We will also celebrate our ERA Champion Award recipients, Joanna Wade, Partner with Winston & Strawn LLP and Julie von Haefen, NC Representative, District 36 (Wake Co.).

During our business meeting we will elect board new board members and review recommended by-laws changes. If you wish to be able to vote at the meeting, you must be a registered, dues-paid member by September 20th. You can easily join or renew your membership online. We are honoring the church’s request that no sales be conducted at the meeting, so we will not be selling t-shirts that day.

If you are interested in running for a position on the board, please review the call for candidates letter.

If you’d like to review the proposed bylaws changes, here are two documents to look at – changes within the full bylaws and proposed changes only.

We’ve arranged for group pricing at a nearby hotel for your convenience. When you register, just let them know you’re with the ERA-NC Alliance Annual Meeting group. Depending on participation, group pricing may end Sept. 20, so book now!

Comfort Inn University Durham/Chapel Hill
3508 Mt. Moriah Road
Durham, NC 27707
www.choicehotels.com/north-carolina/durham/comfort-inn-hotels

Stay tuned for more details!

June Action for the ERA

by Leave a Comment

The Equal Rights Amendment Bills, House Bill 271 and Senate Bill 184, are still active bills since constitutional amendments are exempt from crossover deadline.  In the next few weeks, please escalate personal visits, emails, letters, and calls with your elected representatives and senators in the NC General Assembly.  It needs to be a face-to-face visit, individualized mailing, or phone call.

First, if your representative or senator is a Republican, please express your insistence that he/she must get the ERA Bills out of committee with a favorable report because women’s rights are foundational to this country. [Read more…] about June Action for the ERA

Make Calls on March 5th

by Leave a Comment

ERA bills will be introduced in the NCGA on March 5th, 2019
Can’t make it to the NC General Assembly on March 5th but want to be part of the action?

You can contact the legislators representing your county to let them know that you strongly support the Equal Rights Amendment and expect them to do the same.

Here are some key points to cover (although we hope you will use your own voice, stories, and perspective!):

  • There will never be equal rights in this country until all laws apply to citizens regardless of their sex.
  • The laws we thought might protect women have not been strictly applied.
  • Families’ very economic survival depends on non-discrimination in hiring, paying, promoting, and providing a safe working environment for everyone, including women.
  • North Carolina should be the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
  • The bill to ratify the ERA is being introduced on March 5th. Once introduced, there is a very short time for legislators to sign on as co-sponsors. We urge you to indicate your support as soon as possible. Please visit the NCGA Dashboard to digitally co-sponsor the ERA ratification bills that were filed today (March 5). 
  • If you are on the committee where the bill lands, we urge you to:
    • request a public hearing on the bill
    • pass it out of committee with a favorable report
    • call for this bill to come up for a vote!

Legislators’ individual addresses can be found at www.NCleg.gov, click on ‘District Representation’, ‘Find your legislator’, scroll down to “representation by County”, enter your county, click on the names for both office and home mailing addresses.  An in-person visit is always best, but emails and phone calls also count!

Thank you for joining us in this work!

ERA Support in the NCGA

by Leave a Comment

Below is a list of the NC General Assembly Members who have indicated past support for a bill to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (either through past co-sponsorship or positive response to the 2018 ERA-NC Alliance survey of candidates’ positions). The lead sponsors of past ratification bills are noted in bold italics.

Please thank them for their support, and talk with them about ways to expand support for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment among their fellow legislators during the 2019-2020 Legislative Session!

You can also view the responses to our 2018 Candidates Survey here.

Senator/Party/District Representative/Party/District

Sen Erica Smith-Ingram D 3

Sen Terry Van Duyn D 49

Sen Valerie Foushee D 23

Sen Kirk DeViere D 19

Sen Floyd McKissick, Jr D 20

Sen Mike Woodard D 22

Sen Paul Lowe Jr D 32

Sen Mike Woodard D 22

Sen Don Davis D 5

Sen Gladys Robinson D 28

Sen Joyce Waddell D 40

Sen Natasha Marcus D 41

Sen Harper Peterson D 9

Sen Dan Blue D 14

Sen Jay Chaudhuri D 15

Sen Wiley Nickel D 16

Sen Sam Searcy D 17

Rep Edward Goodwin R 1

Rep Deb Butler D 18

Rep Susan Fisher D 114

Rep John Ager D 115

Rep Brian Turner D 116

Rep Graig Meyer D 50

Rep Robert Reives II D 54

Rep Marvin Lucas D 42

Rep William Richardson D 44

Rep Evelyn Terry D 71

Rep Howard Hunter III D 5

Rep Terry Garrison D 32

Rep Ashton Clemmons D 57

Rep Cecil Brockman D 60

Rep Mary Price Harrison D 61

Rep Joe Sam Queen D 119

Rep Chuck McGrady R 117

Rep Garland Pierce D 48

Rep Mary Belk D 88

Rep Chaz Beasley D 92

Rep Christy Clark D 98

Rep Nasif Majeed D 99

Rep John Autry D 100

Rep Carolyn Logan D 101

Rep Becky Carney D 102

Rep Rachel Hunt D 103

Rep Carla Cunningham D 106

Rep Kelly Alexander Jr D 107

Rep Verla Insko D 56

Rep Kandie Smith D 8

Rep Charles Graham D 47

Rep Harry Warren R 76

Rep Allison Dahle D 11

Rep Rosa Gill D 33

Rep Julie von Haefen D 36

Rep Ms. Sydney Batch D 37

Rep Yvonne Lewis Holley D 38

Rep Darren Jackson D 39

Rep Joe John D 40

Rep Gale Adcock D 41

Rep Cynthia Ball D 49

Rep Jean Farmer-Butterfield D 24

NC Ratification Petition

by 2 Comments

Going to church, an organization meeting or a big event? Download and circulate our petition to the legislators of North Carolina! The more signatures legislators see from their own constituents, the better!

Petitions can be sent to the NC Speaker of the House, NC Senate President Pro-tempore, and any legislator that represents one of your members.

Please also send a copy of the petitions to Teri Walley, Vice-President, Communications of the ERA-NC Alliance

Here’s where you’ll find contact information for the NCGA leadership: [Read more…] about NC Ratification Petition

2018 Candidates Surveys

by 2 Comments

The ERA-NC Alliance reached out to EVERY North Carolina candidate running for Congress and the General Assembly this year! We called as many candidates individually as we could, and sent out postcards as well.

A ‘yes’ 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; you can read their comments in this document.

Candidate Survey Results
NC HOUSE Name Supports ERA?
1 Edward Goodwin Yes
1 Ronald Wesson Yes
2 Darryl Moss Yes
3 T. Lee Horne No
3 Barbara Lee Yes
3 Michael Speciale No
4 DaQuen Love Yes
5 Howard Hunter III Yes
6 Tess Judge Yes
7 Bobbie Richardson Yes
8 Kandie Smith Yes
10 Tracy Blackmon Yes
11 Allison Dahle Yes
11 Travis Groo Yes
12 George Graham Yes
13 Penelope diMaio Yes
14 Isaiah Johnson Yes
16 John Johnson Yes
17 Tom Simmons Yes
19 Marcia Morgan Yes
20 Leslie Cohen Yes
26 Linda Bennett Yes
29 MaryAnn Black Yes
30 Marcia Morey Yes
31 Zack Hawkins Yes
32 Terry Garrison Yes
33 Rosa Gill Yes
33 Anne Murtha Yes
35 Michael Nelson Yes
36 Julie von Haefen Yes
37 Sydney Batch Yes
39 Darren Jackson Yes
40 Joe John Yes
41 Gale Adcock Yes
42 Marvin Lucas Yes
43 John Czajkowski Yes
44 Linda Devore Yes
44 Billy Richardson Yes
45 Albeiro Florez Yes
48 Russell Walker No
49 Cynthia Ball Yes
50 Graig Meyer Yes
52 Lowell Simon Yes
53 Richard Chapman Yes
56 Verla Insko Yes
57 Ashton Clemmons Yes
60 Cecil Brockman Yes
61 Pricey Harrison Yes
62 Martha Shafer Yes
63 Erica McAdoo Yes
66 Justin Miller Yes
68 Richard Foulke Yes
71 Evelyn Terry Yes
74 Terri LeGrand Yes
75 Dan Besse Yes
76 Joe Fowler Yes
76 Harry Warren Yes
77 Bonnie Dawn Clark Yes
78 James Meredith, Jr. Yes
79 Jerry Langley Yes
80 Wendy Sellars Yes
81 Lewie Phillips Yes
82 Aimy Steele Yes
84 Allen Edwards Yes
85 Howard Larsen Yes
86 Tim Barnsback Yes
87 Amanda Bregel Yes
88 Mary Belk Yes
89 Greg Cranford Yes
95 Carla Fassbender Yes
96 Kim Bost Yes
97 Natalie Robertson Yes
98 Christy Clark Yes
99 Nasif Majeed Yes
100 John Autry Yes
101 Carolyn Logan Yes
102 Becky Carney Yes
103 Rachel Hunt Yes
106 Carla Cunningham Yes
109 Susan Maxon Yes
113 Sam Edney Yes
114 Susan Fisher Yes
115 John Ager Yes
116 Brian Turner Yes
117 Gayle Kemp Yes
117 Chuck McGrady Yes
118 Rhonda Cole Schanderel Yes
119 Joe Sam Queen Yes
     
NC SENATE Name  
1 D. Cole Phelps Yes
2 Ginger Garner Yes
2 Tim Harris No
3 Charles Earley Yes
3 Erica Smith-Ingram Yes
4 Jesse Shearin Yes
6 Joseph Webb Yes
7 Barbara Dantonio Yes
8 Dr. David Sink, Jr. Yes
9 Harper Peterson Yes
10 Vernon Ray Moore Yes
11 Albert Pacer Yes
14 Daniel Blue Yes
15 Jay Chaudhuri Yes
16 Wiley Nickel Yes
17 Sam Searcy Yes
19 Kirk Deviere Yes
20 Floyd McKissick, Jr. Yes
22 Mike Woodard Yes
23 Valerie Foushee Yes
24 JD Wooten Yes
25 Helen Probst Mills Yes
28 Gladys Robinson Yes
30 Jen Mangrum Yes
31 John Motsinger, Jr. Yes
40 Joyce Waddell Yes
41 Natasha Marcus Yes
42 Ric Vandett Yes
43 Altriese Price Yes
44 David Lattimore Yes
46 Art Sherwood Yes
47 David Wheeler Yes
48 Norm Bossert Yes
49 Mark Crawford Yes
49 Terry Van Duyn Yes
     
US HOUSE Name  
2 Jeff Matemu Yes
5 DD Adams Yes
6 Ryan Watts Yes
8 Frank McNeill Yes
10 David Brown Yes
11 Phillip Price Yes
 
 

Press Release 6/2/18

by 1 Comment

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.

###

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

by 1 Comment

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!

by 1 Comment

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!

 

New Op-Ed on the ERA

by Leave a Comment

If you haven’t had a chance to read it, this is a great summation of how the ERA – and other important bills – fared at the hands of the NC General Assembly’s Rules Committee this year. Op-Ed written by our co-president, Roberta Madden, in the Asheville Citizen-Times newspaper:

“The Deafening Silence on an Equal Rights Amendment”