Wednesday, July 7, 2004

The Ghost from the Wishing Well
Little of the once heated debate over the proposed Equal Rights Amendment seems to make the news these days. Most people probably assume the ERA movement died a long time ago, but they would be mistaken. A resolution calling for the passage of an amendment for equal rights for women was read into the record of the U.S. House of Representatives in the current 108th session of Congress on January 28, 2003, just as it has been read into the record by one sponsor or another in every congressional session since 1982. The current version, H.RES.38, sponsored by Rep. Robert E. Andrews of New Jersey, along with 36 co-sponsors, was promptly referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, and on March 6, 2003, referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, where it presumably resides to this day without much notice.

Will it re-emerge as an issue in this presidential campaign? It seems unlikely, with all the attention going to Iraq on one hand and our own economy on the other. But the ERA is still alive through interesting legal maneuvers and constitutional debates which are ongoing. It may yet rear its head.

By Robert Parker at 12:21 PM | Permalink
Category: Women's Issues | Comments (0)