AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

September 13, 2018

Issue

Remember the Equal Rights Amendment??  It’s B-A-C-K!!

Details

The language of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is as follows:  “Equality of rights under law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

Even back in 1972 when it was first sent to Congress, the language was problematic.  Fast forward to 2018 and the efforts to redefine ‘sex’ in laws to include ‘sexual orientation and gender identity’ and the problem is immediately evident!  Remember that is exactly what the PA Human Relations Commission has recently done in their illegal power grab!!    Imagine putting that interpretation into the US Constitution!!

The ERA was to be ratified by 38 states within seven years in order to become an amendment to the US Constitution.  It stalled in 1977 with the support of only 35 states.  ERA supporters successfully petitioned Congress for an extension and the new deadline was June 30, 1982.   However, between 1977 and Congress’ decision to extend the deadline, five states rescinded their ratification!! The fact that legislatures in Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky and South Dakota no longer supported the ERA was not acknowledged in the ERA extension resolution.

Even supporters of the ERA acknowledged it was dead after they failed to get 38 states to ratify it by June 30, 1982.  That was back then – today they have restarted the effort to pass the ERA claiming they only need three states to ratify the ERA!!   Nevada did ratify it in 2017 and Illinois did this year – so that means, according to them, they only need one more state!

This thinking involves ‘new math,’ rewriting history and a bunch of liberal thinking!! However, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) have introduced joint resolutions proclaiming that whenever 38 states ratify the ERA submitted on March 22, 1972 it will become part of the Constitution.  The House version has 165 cosponsors (all Democrats) and the Senate version has 36 cosponsors (all Democrats, plus socialist Bernie Sanders).

Action Steps

Listen to my interview with Bob Marshall to better understand what’s happening

Read Bob Marshall’s 1,000 word Federalist article outlining this attempt here 

Contact your Congressman and Senators Casey and Toomey and remind them the ERA is dead and we don’t want it resurrected!!

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