|
Your support of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is making a difference, Common Ills. You have sent nearly 100,000 messages to the Senate in support of the Equal Rights Amendment. THANK YOU! But thanks to Mitch McConnell, the Senate has done nothing. It’s time to take our advocacy for the ERA to the next level. We need your help Common Ills, as a staunch supporter of equal rights. While a majority of U.S. Senators support removing the time limit in the preamble of the ERA, the threat of a filibuster by Senator Mitch McConnell is delaying final action for our equal rights. October is domestic violence and gender-based violence awareness month. We know that President Biden is a strong and proven proponent of ending gender-based violence — the Violence Against Women Act is primary evidence of this! The ERA would give Congress the power to pass laws or policies to stop the denial of equal rights on the basis of sex. Gender-based violence, that is far too prevalent, is one of the most glaring examples of inequality. Gender-based violence has escalated during the pandemic. Yet women and girls all too often have no recourse to right the wrong. They may seek restraining orders against their abusers but such orders are often ignored. Watching the Congressional testimony of the USA women’s gymnastics team was just another reminder that these young women, for far too long, had no recourse from the sexual abuse they suffered. The ERA could have given them a federal civil right of action against the University and the abuser. The ERA would provide the necessary constitutional basis for Congress to enact new laws against gender violence, including restoring the Violence Against Women Act’s federal civil right of action remedy. Such a remedy would enable survivors to sue their assailants for damages in federal civil court and achieve some measure of legal accountability, especially when institutions such as universities, police departments or state and local officials fail to act. Polls show massive public support for the ERA. Most people mistakenly think the ERA is already a part of the Constitution. Add your voice today, and urge President Biden to use his unparalleled megaphone to enshrine the ERA in the U.S. Constitution once and for all. For Equality
|
Feminist Majority |
