As most of you know, we filed yet another federal lawsuit recently in an effort to validate the ERA. The case technically involves a law that excludes women from the military draft, but we did not file because of the draft. We filed because a male had already filed a similar case in California, arguing that excluding women from the draft violates men’s rights under the ERA, and we were advised that his case is headed for the Supreme Court. If his case were only about the draft we might not have filed, but it isn’t. His case argues that women must register for the draft because the ERA is valid.

Valame will be asking the Supreme Court to rule on the ERA’s validity alongside a request that they also require women to register for the draft. This may seem reasonable, but here’s the catch: Valame says that the ERA does not give women equality. It requires them to register for the draft, but as second-class citizens. Vikram Valame is a men’s rights activist who is using the ERA to harm women.

It is imperative that women be the leading voice in any Supreme Court case involving the ERA. The sole purpose of the ERA is to establish women as fully equal persons under the Constitution, yet Valame wants women to remain second-class persons while dying on the front lines of combat. Mr. Valame’s argument is immoral, but he will prevail if women do not inject themselves into this controversy and demand full equality while ensuring that women’s rights will not be decided in an audacious men’s rights case.

This is why we filed our own lawsuit in Massachusetts federal court.

Our latest brief explains our legal arguments. You can read it here by clicking on this link or on the image below:
https://equalmeansequal.org/?portfolio=equal-means-equal-v-donald-j-trump-2

Our claims are simple. We argue that the ERA is valid, and because it is valid, the Supreme Court must give women strict scrutiny review whenever they challenge discriminatory acts of government. Women are currently subjected to only intermediate scrutiny, which allows unequal treatment of women even if there is no compelling reason.

Women suffer extremely high levels of discriminatory harm. This is because intermediate scrutiny allows laws to be 1) unequally enacted by lawmakers, 2) unequally enforced by police and prosecutors, and 3) unequally applied and construed by courts.

We are gravely concerned about Valame’s case because while he argues that the ERA is valid, he does NOT argue that the ERA requires strict scrutiny even though the law is clear that it does.
He isn’t even asking for it.

If something happens and Valame’s case does not make it to the Supreme Court, another one just like it will be filed by another man. These cases will continue to be filed until the Supreme Court decides whether the ERA is valid, and whether women deserve strict scrutiny even if the ERA is not validated.

The urgent question for women is this: Will we sit back and allow men’s rights groups to determine our destiny? Will we passively watch as the most important women’s rights issue in American history, the ERA, is decided without any women at the table?

No.

Please get involved. If we lose our rights because men went to court and used the ERA against us, and we didn’t even object, what would that say about us? This is a pivotal moment in the fight for equality. If you care about the ERA, and you are part of an organization, you must get involved by signing our amicus brief. Any organization that sincerely supports the ERA should sign the brief. Do not miss out on this opportunity to be an ERA upstanding organization.

These are strange times, but the truth is plain to see. We must fight hard or submit to generations of more subjugation for ourselves, our daughters, our granddaughters and other groups.

The ERA protects ALL equally and is critical to the health of our democracy. Women alone were excluded from the Constitution many years ago, thus necessitating the ERA. But many other categories of people have since been described by the courts as falling under the meaning of the word “sex.”  Sex is the operative word and it is a word of unity. Establishing full equality for women will elevate all people to full equality, where we all belong.

We have waited long enough for basic legal equality.

The amicus brief will be filed on August 1st, 2025. Sign on will close at the end of business day, July 31st, 2025.