While there are federal and state statutes and policies that do protect against some sex or gender-based discrimination, they are not a substitute for a constitutional amendment. This will not be the last word on the ERA,” said Antonia Kirkland, Global Lead for Legal Equality & Access to Justice at Equality Now. “The ERA is not dead and should be recognized as the 28th amendment as it has met all the requirements of Article 5 of the Constitution. “It is very disappointing that not enough Senators felt that it is vital and necessary to uphold the equal rights of all citizens of the United States and denied the validity of the ERA today. Supporters of the ERA argue that it is necessary to ensure gender equality is enshrined in the Constitution as it will provide permanent, irreversible protections for women and girls on issues such as equal pay, child marriage, and sexual violence. In 2017, Nevada voted to ratify the amendment, followed by Illinois in 2018, and in 2020, supporters celebrated when the 38-state threshold was reached, with Virginia voting in favor. In recent years backing for the ERA has been growing. This deadline was later extended from 1979 to 1982, but momentum stalled with only 35 of the 38 required states ratifying within the timeframe. Three-quarters of states, 38 in total, were required to ratify the proposed amendment before 1979, an arbitrary deadline put in place by Congress but not required by the Constitution. It was then introduced to the states for ratification. In March 1972, the amendment passed both the House and the Senate with bipartisan support. The recent vote in the Senate comes after years of advocacy and activism from women’s rights organizations and lawmakers on behalf of the ERA since it was first introduced in Congress in 1923 by two Republican Senators. It would set the standard that gender-based violence and discrimination are unconstitutional and provide a strong and unambiguous legal basis for women’s and gender-diverse peoples’ rights. The ERA would give explicit protection against sex discrimination for all, making it easier to challenge discriminatory laws and practices against women and girls. When discrimination based on sex is not explicitly prohibited under the law, it leaves women and girls vulnerable to various forms of gender-based discrimination in areas such as employment, education, and reproductive healthcare. The US remains one of the few nations that does not – alongside other nations such as Saudi Arabia – and this is in violation of international law. Of the 193 countries that are members of the United Nations, 85% have constitutions that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex and or gender. Although Section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution theoretically provides every person “equal protection of the laws,” the Constitution does not explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. Many Americans believe that equal rights for men and women are guaranteed in the Constitution, but this is not the case. Res 4 failed to pass the United States Senate although the majority of senators ( 51-47) voted* in favor of recognizing the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as “valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution.” The amendment, which was first proposed a century ago, guarantees equality of rights under the law for all American citizens regardless of sex.
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