Equal Rights Amendment

9 Stories

Virginia Capitol Erupts in Cheers as ERA Wins Approval

State is the 38th to ratify, but there are complications

(Newser) - Vivian Watts has a photo taken 44 years ago of her demonstrating with her daughter for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. She's wearing a sash in the photo, and on Wednesday, the Virginia legislator wore that sash to work. "Forty-four years is a long time to wait,...

Could Virginia Be Set to Change the Constitution? Maybe

With its legislature in Democratic hands, it's expected to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment

(Newser) - Could Virginia's election results end up changing the US Constitution? Maybe. Democrats flipped both houses of the state legislature in Tuesday's election, giving them control of both the legislature and the governorship for the first time in 26 years—and they say they'll use that control to...

Indecent Exposure Arrest Leads to Controversy in Virginia

Woman was replicating an image on the state flag

(Newser) - Two women staging a protest in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment in Virginia ended up inadvertently drawing a large amount of attention to their cause. The women were mimicking an image on the state seal, and one of them was dressed as the Roman goddess Virtus, reports the Richmond ...

Only 1 More State Needs to Ratify Equal Rights Amendment

Illinois just became the 37th to back ERA

(Newser) - Illinois has ratified the Equal Rights Amendment a mere 36 years after the deadline for ratification, 46 years after it passed Congress, and 97 years after it was introduced. The amendment, which calls for men and women to have equal rights under state and federal law, was approved by 35...

Anti-Feminist Housewife Who Helped Defeat ERA Dies

Phyllis Schlafly was 92

(Newser) - Conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, best known for her successful campaign to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment, has died at her home in St. Louis. She was 92. The author and activist attended scores of hearings in the 1970s to testify against the amendment, arguing that equal rights would disadvantage housewives....

Meryl Streep Wrote to Everyone in Congress, Got 5 Replies

Her letter about equal rights was basically ignored

(Newser) - Apparently Congress is not starstruck by Meryl Streep. Earlier this summer, the actress wrote a letter calling for support of the Equal Rights Amendment and mailed a copy—along with a book on the subject by the president of the ERA Coalition—to every member of Congress, Vanity Fair reports....

Phyllis Schlafly Warns Men: Don't Date Feminists

Conservative 'godmother' slams liberals over contraception flap

(Newser) - Phyllis Schlafly's advice to young men: Don't date feminists, even though "some of them are pretty." Speaking to an all-male student crowd at The Citadel college in South Carolina this week, the so-called "godmother of conservatism" also blamed feminists for drumming up the recent contraception...

GOP Lawmaker to Women: Back the Democrats

Rep. Richard Hanna co-sponsored the Equal Rights Amendment

(Newser) - Republican Rep. Richard Hanna has a little advice for women voters: Give your money to the Democrats. "I'll tell you this: Contribute your money to people who speak out on your behalf, because the other side—my side—has a lot of it," said Hanna at an...

Equal Rights Amendment Is Back
Equal Rights Amendment Is Back
Mar 28, 2007 9:43 AM CDT

Equal Rights Amendment Is Back

Democrats push for gender equality in the constitution

(Newser) - The Equal Rights Amendment is making a comeback, with Democrats reintroducing it in both houses of Congress yesterday, and five state legislatures putting it on the docket since January. The measure banning sex discrimination passed the House and Senate in 1972, but it went down to defeat when only 35...

9 Stories