ERA: Dead Bill Walking

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, June 29, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

This year’s General Assembly did a good thing by letting H.R. 217 and S.R. 195 die in committee. Those bills would have resurrected the Equal Rights Amendment Congress passed in 1972, but the states never ratified. Section One of the ERA says, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Since that sentence mentions sex, but not women, it does nothing to protect women.

Section Two says, “The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.” So, consider this: No one knows EXACTLY how Congress would have mandated equality of law for males and females in 1972 and no one knows EXACTLY how Congress would interpret equality based on sex in 2018, when sexual identity of male and female has been replaced with identities based on behavior.

Adding the ERA to the U.S. Constitution would mean every law that protects women would be unconstitutional. Women would be expected … and some already are expected … to hoist and carry any load a man can carry, fight alongside men in the military and get used to the idea that equality based on sex would mean everyone could use the same private facilities at the same time.

But, wait! Aren’t hose things already happening? Yes, they are happening in some places, but they’re not mandatory, yet. If the ERA were ratified, Congress could deem it illegal to consider biological identity in any situation. In fact, if Section Two of the ERA becomes law, Congress would lose authority to enforce or re-enact a current law or pass a new law that would not apply equally to males and females.

Although it was introduced decades ago and was never ratified, the State of Illinois passed the ERA this spring. That Illinois vote was 43 – 12 on April 11 th in the Senate and 72 – 45 in the House on May 30 th .

Also, there’s a simultaneous movement to pass it in the South. On February 14, 2017, two ERA bills were introduced in North Carolina. Both bills died in committee, as did the two Georgia bills introduced in this year’s session. A stunning fact: Georgia legislators defeated the ERA first while Jimmy Carter was Governor of Georgia and, again, during his presidency. That was a tremendous accomplishment! For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.