Voice You Opposition in Springfield on Wednesday, December 3, 2014
With a 39-11 vote, the Illinois Senate voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) during the 2014 Spring Illinois Legislative Session. If ratified in the Illinois House, Illinois will become the 36th state to ratify the ERA. The Illinois House will address ERA during the December 1-4 Veto Session.
Take action:
- A citizen Lobby Day has been set for Wednesday, December 3, 2014, to voice our opposition to the harmful ERA. Leaders, members, and friends are invited to join with like-minded traditional-value organizations and individuals at the State Capitol. As you know, it will be important for women to have a strong presence on this issue.
- The Lobby Day efforts will start early in the morning (8:00 a.m.) Wednesday, December 3, and we should be finished by about 3:00 p.m.
Whether or not you are able to attend Lobby Day please take action before Wednesday, December 3 in the following ways:
- Contact the members of the Illinois House Judiciary Committee and urge them to end the ERA once and for all.
- Contact your State Representative. Urge him/her to vote NO on HJRCA7 if it is called for a vote. If you don’t know who your state representative is, click here; put in your zip code, scan down to State Representative, and click on their Website where you will find contact information.
History of the ERA
For those who are too young or too old to remember the ERA:
• Passage of the ERA would add these words to the U.S. Constitution: “Equality of rights under law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.”
• The ERA would remove all legal distinction between sexes. Men and women would be treated identical in value as well as in nature. The ERA would also integrate same-sex and bi-sexual attraction into the U.S. Constitution.
• The ERA could very well affect almost every area of life including Social Security, Medicare, Health, insurance benefits, Medicare benefits, and pro-life issues
• The time limit for ratification of the ERA ended in 1979, but Congress granted an extension to 1982. In 1981, a U.S. District Court ruled the extension was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court dismissed the extension as moot.
• From 1972 – 1982 the Illinois General Assembly voted NO on ERA 13 times.
Pro-ERA proponents have been working behind the scenes to ratify the ERA in Illinois. In fact, Feminist Gloria Steinem actively campaigned for lame-duck Gov. Pat Quinn during the 2014 elections.
This issue is what launched CWA in 1978. We stand strong and will not back down!
Let’s stop the ERA once and for all!
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Edmund Burke