22222222ERA Coalition statement on Colleen Shogan’s remarks during her Senate nomination hearing

Washington, DC –– Following the Senate Homeland Security Committee nomination hearing for Colleen Shogan to the position of U.S. Archivist, the ERA Coalition / Fund for Women’s Equality President and CEO Zakiya Thomas released the following statement regarding Shogan’s remarks:

“Despite the statements made during the nomination hearing today, the ERA Coalition maintains that the role of the U.S. Archivist is ministerial in nature. It is not up to the Archivist or anyone else in the Executive Branch to say whether the ERA is valid. The ERA has fulfilled all requirements set forth in the Constitution, and the Archivist has a statutory duty to publish it.  

Whether it is published or not, however, the ERA is already valid and effective as part of the U.S. Constitution. The Coalition is actively pursuing all avenues to push for full recognition of the amendment.”

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The ERA Coalition was founded in 2014 to bring concerted, organized action to the effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA Coalition has a sister organization, the Fund for Women’s Equality, which promotes public education and outreach on the need for constitutional equality. Composed of more than 260 organizations across the country, the Coalition provides education and advocacy on constitutional Equality. 

While the effort to amend the constitution to include sex equality began nearly a century ago, our renewed efforts are centered on women of color (African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, Latina, and Native American), gender-nonconforming and transgender women and girls, and nonbinary people – those who are most impacted by systemic inequities.

www.eracoalition.org | www.fundforwomensequality.org