The ERA is back…again

An old bill has been reintroduced into congress, again. The ERA is back! Except, now it’s called the “Women’s Equality Amendment.” It 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.” They are the same exact words contained in the ERA of the 1970s.

The WEA has been introduced by the democrats, and the amendment is seriously lacking in republican support. As the Washington Post reports, the house has only eight republican signatures, while the senate has none. Conservative groups have already assembled against women’s equality. Their big argument, exactly the same as three decades ago, is women would be subjected to the draft. Women are serving in the military right now, so why are Americans so insecure about putting women in uniform? In Israel, both men and women have to serve directly after graduating from high school.

In response to George Will’s op-ed (it will make you mad!), Ted Kennedy and Carolyn Maloney wrote a letter to the editor discrediting the notion that equality is unnecessary. Women are only paid .77 to every dollar that men make. It gets worse for minorities: black women make .67 and Hispanic women make .56 to every white male dollar! The two politicians realize that the battle for women’s equality is far from over: “A stronger effort is needed to finally meet our commitment to full equality.”