Local

Virginia lawmakers urged to reject ERA

Kathleen Shaw | Capital News Service

RICHMOND — The Family Foundation, Virginia Catholic Conference and other groups that oppose
abortion are urging Virginia legislators to oppose ratifying the Equal Rights
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They say the ERA, which is currently before
the full Senate, is anti-women, anti-American and “a smokescreen for
abortion.” 

Conservative activists held a news conference and met with
legislators Jan. 10 to voice concerns about the ERA, which they refer to as the
“Everything Related to Abortion Act.” They said the proposed constitutional amendment
uses women as pawns to push forward an abortion-rights agenda.

Patrina Mosley, director of a group called Life, Culture and
Women’s Advocacy, criticized the amendment with a tongue-in-cheek reference to
the feminist movement.

“The ERA is really a smokescreen for abortion,” Mosley said.
“This is not really about women. Women are continually used as a prop to push
an agenda, and the ‘Time’s Up’ on that.”

“The ERA at first glance appears to be a neutral measure
advocating for the equality of women which is a worthy endeavor,” said the
Virginia Catholic Conference in an action alert emailed to supporters. “However,
the ambiguity of the language disguises significant negative consequences and
legal uncertainty particularly when it comes to protecting the unborn,” the VCC
said.

“Legal protections for women are already found in both the U.S.
Constitution and state laws, including the Virginia Equal Pay Act.  Moreover, the ERA’s ratification deadline
passed over 30 years ago, rendering it legally moot.”

The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee voted 8-6 Jan. 9 in
favor of SJ 284, which would add Virginia to the 37 states that have already
ratified the ERA. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the resolution next week.

The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Glen Sturtevant, R-Richmond,
would then need approval from a House committee and a House of Delegates
majority. ERA supporters hope that with ratification by Virginia, they would
have the three-fourths majority of the states needed to amend the U.S.
Constitution.

But some experts say it’s too late to ratify the ERA because
Congress set the original ratification deadline to 1982.

Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, is sponsoring what she views
as an alternative to the ERA — SJ 275, or the Equal Rights Affirmation. Chase’s
resolution “reaffirms that all persons residing in Virginia are afforded equal
protection under the law. The resolution cites numerous guarantees of equality
that currently exist in both federal and state law while refuting the
necessity, utility, and viability of the Equal Rights Amendment,” according to a
summary by the Legislative Information System.

The ERA declares that “equality of rights under the law shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.”
Chase said that wording is vague and could have unexpected repercussions.

“It’s concerning to me that the ERA treats women identically to
men, not equally to men — lending to it the current fad of gender-fluidity,”
Chase said. “Until you change that word to female, then I cannot support this
legislation.”

Tina Whittington, executive vice president of Students for Life
of America, said the ERA isn’t needed because women are already treated as
equals in laws and courts. Further, Whittington said prohibiting gender bias
would affect previously passed federal laws and be harmful to women.

“Many protections designed specifically for women, for mothers,
would be impacted,” Whittington said.

Some women who spoke against the ERA at the Jan. 10 press
conference said they’ve had a hard fight against the measure. Eva Scott, the
first woman elected to the Virginia Senate, voted against the ERA in the 1970s
as a delegate and senator. Scott said feminists do not need a constitutional
amendment to be successful and rise to power.

“Women are really selling themselves short,” Scott said. “All
these women really need is to embrace the truth that equality is already theirs
and the whole world is at their — and our — fingertips.”

 

Related Articles