Equal Rights Amendment Pros And Cons

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For generations now, powerful and brave women in the United States have cajoled citizens, members of Congress and government officials to ratify a Constitutional amendment that states “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” In 1923, during the 75th anniversary of the 1848 Women’s Rights convention in Seneca Falls, women’s rights activist Alice Paul created the “Lucretia Mott Amendment” which would grant men and women equal rights throughout the United States. On March 22, 1972, the amendment now titled the “Equal Rights Amendment” passed the U.S Senate and House of Representatives and was to be sent to the states for approval. However, once the seven-year deadline on the ratification process came to an end in 1979, the amendment’s proponents lacked the ratification by 38 states and thus the proposed 27th amendment for equal rights was terminated. The ERA advocates continue to work together and utilize each other's resources in hope to finally pass the bill. Since 1982 the ERA has been introduced in every session …show more content…

Dwight Eisenhower was the first President to show support for the ERA, and later President Richard Nixon endorsed the ERA. Current President Barrack Obama has invariably supported women’s rights and even states, “History shows that countries are more prosperous and more peaceful when women are empowered.” As a former Senator from Illinois, he sponsored a joint resolution ratifying the ERA in addition to co-sponsoring the Women’s Equality Amendment. Moreover, other members of the executive branch such as Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry co-sponsored re-introducing the Equal Rights Amendment. Although the members of the Obama administration have agreed to co-sponsor the ERA, they fail to persist in promulgating the matter