EQUAL MEANS EQUAL wishes you a year filled with light, joy, kindness and equality.
The ERA, while Federal law right now, is not being enforced by the States or the Federal Government because it has been unlawfully blocked and has yet to be published as required by law!
EQUAL MEANS EQUAL is focused on pressuring the President to publish the Equal Rights Amendment immediately, which is languishing in limbo while women’s rights are denied and retracted.
How can you help?
Well, wherever you live, there is probably a local paper or news outlet that wants to hear from its community members.
If you search online for that local outlet, you will easily find a link to “Letter to the Editor” or a similar way to reach out and share a letter or opinion piece. This is our best opportunity to get the urgent information about the present status of ERA out to the people – through the true grassroots.
Here is an example of an article we wrote in response to a story in the Minnesota Star Tribune that had incomplete and/or inaccurate information about the ERA:
https://equalmeansequal.org/
https://www.startribune.com/
Will you commit to sending a letter to your local paper for the ERA?
Here is some language you can use to get you started:
You may not realize this, but the Equal Rights Amendment (“ERA”) is the 28th Amendment to our Constitution, but it was blocked. First by the Trump Administration in 2020, and now the Biden Administration, which continues to fight against women, girls and LGBTQ+ people and their reproductive rights in court.
However, the Executive Branch has no authority to block a constitutional amendment. It merely is required to publish a revised constitution without discretion. This was recently reinforced by Don Wilson, the former Archivist who published the 27th Amendment on Congressional pay, which was mired in controversy, 203 years after it was sent to the states for ratification!
While it may seem hard to believe (and it was for us as well), given the Biden Administration’s public statements of support for women and for the ERA in particular, the reality is that the administration is fighting against the ERA in a Federal lawsuit in Washington DC called Illinois v. Ferriero, and hoping this shocking policy inconsistency won’t be exposed to the public.
As detailed in this recent article, if the Biden Administration continues to refuse to publish the ERA as required by law, and the court hands down an anti-equality ruling, it may kill the ERA and, with it, equality for women, girls, LGBTQIA+ persons and their legal and reproductive rights for the foreseeable future.
Women and Generation Z delivered, yet again, in the midterms, based on the priority they place on women’s rights and democracy. Nevada voters even adopted an Equal Rights Amendment for their constitution. It is clear the public chooses equality for all Americans and has taken the necessary steps to have their will respected by the Federal government. Let’s make sure it happens before it’s too late.
The time for excuses and playing politics with women’s rights and lives must now end. President Biden must immediately direct publication of the ERA. He must do so before the court renders its decision in Illinois v. Ferriero, which could come any day.
Get the Skinny on the Legal Status of ERA
Attorney Nicole Vorrasi Bates explains the urgent status of ERA and the
need for the President to publish the amendment immediately.
Thanks, as always, for your kind support. Our work is supported completely by you and your donations and we greatly appreciate your donations, large or small. 🙂
In solidarity and with fierce determination, your friends,
Kamala, Natalie, Nicole, Jeff, Alice, Joel, Tom and the EQUAL MEANS EQUAL team
