22222222THE ERA COALITION AGAIN CALLS ON SENATE TO REMOVE TIME LIMIT FOR RATIFICATION

Supports Cardin/Murkowski resolution; Delivers thousands of signatures to Judiciary Chairman Graham and Ranking Member Feinstein

For Immediate Release
Contact: Lupe Todd-Medina: Lupe@EffectiveMediaStrategies.com; 917.202.0116

Friday, December 4, 2020 – (New York, NY) – The ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) Coalition today sent a letter and copy of a petition urging the U.S. Senate to vote on a resolution to remove the time limit to ratify the ERA.

In the letter to Sen. Lindsay Graham, chairman of the Committee of the Judiciary, and Sen. Diane Feinstein, ranking member of the committee, Carol Jenkins, president and CEO of the ERA Coalition said: “Having waged an almost century long campaign to see the ERA ratified in the U.S. Constitution, women have waited far too long for equality in America. With 94% of Americans supporting constitutional sex equality, we believe the ERA can be a great and unifying historical moment, and we look to work with you to make that happen.”

The petition, signed by organizations and thousands of supporters across the country states: “In January 2020, Virginia voted to become the 38th state to ratify the ERA. With that ratification, the ERA has now satisfied all the requirements set forth in the Constitution. But the Department of Justice has taken the position that the ERA is not valid today, because of a seven-year time limit that Congress inserted in the joint resolution when it proposed the ERA back in 1972. That position is now the subject of federal litigation. In the meantime, though, Congress could resolve the question by voting to change the joint resolution, removing the time limit altogether.”

Kimberly Peeler-Allen, board chair of the ERA Coalition, said: “We are proud to support this bipartisan bill that is co-sponsored by Sen. Ben Cardin and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose leadership in seeking broad equality in this country set the tone for the future of every person. The ERA Coalition will provide an equal future for the generations to come.”The Congress passed HJ Res 79, its version of the bill to remove the time limit on the ERA in February of this year.

Bettina Hager, ERA Coalition DC Director said: “On the Centennial anniversary of Women’s Suffrage, the U.S. Senate had a rare opportunity to make history by removing the time limit on the Equal Rights Amendment. Voting to pass this bipartisan legislation will show its dedication to seeing a more equal and just society for all.”

About the ERA Coalition:

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. Comprised of more than one hundred 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 Black, Indigenous and Women of Color, gender-nonconforming and transgender women and girls, and nonbinary people– those who are most impacted by systemic inequities.