Thank you for adding in the ERA to your great action items. Over the last month, I sent postcards I made, letters, called White House, Senators and shared with everyone. I have been pushing for the ERA since 1976. Why is this a "last ditch" democratic effort though? It has been "ready" for more than a year. Where was the leadership we needed?
The “last ditch” effort is because the republicans failed to bring a bill to the House floor that would eliminate the arbitrary deadline for passing the ERA. Biden wanted Congress clear his path in this way. A coalition of many groups supporting the ERA have been working on gathering enough signatures on a discharge petition to bring the bill to the floor. We were only four signatures short. Time has run out. Asking Biden to publish now is our only hope for equality before the misogynists are sworn in.
Just FYI, I have been contacting POTUS daily about publishing the ERA. My rep wrote a reply to me detailing her role in advocating for the ERA. My two senators were signatories to the latest letter to POTUS to publish the ERA. I acknowledged same to all three reps, but asked them to be pests by contacting Biden again.
I contacted my Arkansas Congressman (Steve Womack) a few weeks ago. This was his response:
Thank you for contacting me to express your thoughts on the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). It is good to hear from you.
On January 31, 2023, Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) introduced H.J.Res. 25, a resolution that would remove the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA was originally passed by Congress in 1972 and sent to the states for ratification in 1972. The ERA required that a total of 38 states pass the amendment within a seven-year time frame in order for it to take effect. Even when the deadline for ratification was extended to 1982, only 35 states adopted the amendment, with five subsequently rescinding their ratification. H.J. Res. 25 has been referred to the House Committee on the House Committee on the Judiciary.
The timeline for ratifying the original ERA has expired, and retroactively removing a deadline that expired nearly 40 years ago does nothing to change that fact. The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg correctly asserted that the only legal, constitutionally viable path forward for the ERA would be to reintroduce the amendment and start from scratch, giving both members of Congress and state legislatures the opportunity to evaluate it in the current context. Additionally, it should be noted that our Constitution already guarantees equal rights to all United States citizens under the 14th Amendment, and that there are existing federal laws that prohibit sex-based discrimination. With that said, please know I will keep your thoughts in mind should any additional legislation regarding the ERA come to the House floor for a vote.
Here's the letter that 46 senators wrote to Biden back in November 2024 supporting the ERA. They assert in the letter that the amendment meets the ratification requirements.
I just called one of my representatives in Arizona and asked for publication of the ERA. The woman answering the phone asked a lot of questions. When I explained that all of the requirements have been met except for publication by the National Archivist, and that the previous Trump administration did not do this. She said she imagines that the Representative would stand with Trump, but that she would pass the message to Rep. Crane (AZ).
I was surprised and disappointed at the number of democrats who voted yes on the defense bill that included the anti-trans provision. My reps voted no, but I'll still contact them to thank them for standing up for LGBTQ rights and encourage them to keep doing so. I'll be writing Jeffries, as well as my senators.
Thanks for mentioning Erin in the Morning. I subscribe to her newsletter. As she often notes, appeasement doesn't work. It simply emboldens bad actors to carry their discrimination further.
Thank you so much, Jessica, for adding the ERA into your list of action items. I remember when the ERA was first proposed. I was 21 years old and attended the inauguration of Ronald Reagan with my then Republican boyfriend. Needless to say, I got into an argument with some young Republicans about the ERA. I still can't believe that it has languished this long. How difficult is it to imagine a world where everyone is equal? We were all so full of hope. I can't believe how now we're going backwards. The ERA needs to become the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. Thank you to everyone who has called and written. And thank you to Indivisible. They're a great organization.
It never fails to amaze me the things people will leap to vociferously defend. Like, it's not considered a classic, even though it is old enough at this point to be. You weren't slandering a sacred cow for purposes of pure provocation. It is not like you opened the letter by saying "Hey, this is random, but Casablanca is total crap, though not as much as Citizen Kane or that piece of trash City Lights. Sorry excuses for cinema, amirite you guys?"
Makes me wonder what other minor pop culture curios from the early '90s people hold in surprisingly high esteem. "The last season of The Golden Girls is severely underrated and I don't want to hear anything to the contrary! I will block out your poor opinions by blasting one of the albums Prince made when his name was merely a symbol, which everyone knows are his finest works!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v8pM7cHrT8 This is the original song that was used in Last of the Mohicans, written by Dougie MacLean, a wonderful Scots musician. I loved the movie. And did not find it inauthentic vis a vis the Native people.
Thank you a bunch for all your work. It's a TIME!!!
I just called my senators about NDAA and ERA -- easy to leave messages when their offices are closed! I believe the staff tallies the number of calls, so it's worthwhile. I agree with your disgust with Hakeem Jeffries. We need a new person in his role, obviously!
Good lord, we do NOT need a new person in Jeffries position, what we need is for him to be Speaker. He outmanuevered Johnson at every turn last year and kept the party from totally imploding in public this summer. Under his watch, we actually gained a few seats in the House last month, despite disaster at the top of the ticket. He has the complete support of every last person in the caucus.
You guys, there is gonna be nothing but outrageous nonsense coming our way until the next midterms, and we are going to have to be extremely selective with what battles we pick. We need to give our leaders space to come up with a new vision and strategy, because what we were doing clearly failed. I'm proudly LGBT, but even I can tell that the leader of the House Democrats voting to leave the entire military without funding over a provision about trans kids is guaranteed political suicide so spectacular the Repubs would metaphorically parade his body around for a decade.
I wanted to let you know that, thanks to your Substack, my doughty band of postcard writers (over 7000 handwritten, hand addressed postcards stamped and mailed to voters) gathered again and we did over 1000 (not a typo) cards asking Biden to have the Archivist publish the ERA.
I just tried to reach Senator Laphonza Butler to leave a message consonant with one of your recent recommended scripts. I've left multiple messages for her in the past, but this time I got a recorded voice message from "Senator Adam Schiff." Huh? I'm confused. Why would Schiff have already taken over Senator Butler's phone number (which, by the way, still shows as Butler's number when I Googled her) before he's sworn in to the next Congress? Mainly, I'm trying to figure out how to reach Senator BUTLER for the remaining days of her term as Senator. Any guidance?
Schiff was sworn in as Senator today. He is technically also filling in for the last few weeks of Feinstein's term, as Butler was only serving to fill in a vacancy (though she did a fine job). If you are in CA, he is now our other Senator with Padilla. And not a moment too soon.
I made my calls today. It’s a part time job to stay on top of all these atrocities.
Agree.
Thank you for adding in the ERA to your great action items. Over the last month, I sent postcards I made, letters, called White House, Senators and shared with everyone. I have been pushing for the ERA since 1976. Why is this a "last ditch" democratic effort though? It has been "ready" for more than a year. Where was the leadership we needed?
Not sure...
The “last ditch” effort is because the republicans failed to bring a bill to the House floor that would eliminate the arbitrary deadline for passing the ERA. Biden wanted Congress clear his path in this way. A coalition of many groups supporting the ERA have been working on gathering enough signatures on a discharge petition to bring the bill to the floor. We were only four signatures short. Time has run out. Asking Biden to publish now is our only hope for equality before the misogynists are sworn in.
Just FYI, I have been contacting POTUS daily about publishing the ERA. My rep wrote a reply to me detailing her role in advocating for the ERA. My two senators were signatories to the latest letter to POTUS to publish the ERA. I acknowledged same to all three reps, but asked them to be pests by contacting Biden again.
Fingers crossed.
Excellent!
I contacted my Arkansas Congressman (Steve Womack) a few weeks ago. This was his response:
Thank you for contacting me to express your thoughts on the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). It is good to hear from you.
On January 31, 2023, Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) introduced H.J.Res. 25, a resolution that would remove the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA was originally passed by Congress in 1972 and sent to the states for ratification in 1972. The ERA required that a total of 38 states pass the amendment within a seven-year time frame in order for it to take effect. Even when the deadline for ratification was extended to 1982, only 35 states adopted the amendment, with five subsequently rescinding their ratification. H.J. Res. 25 has been referred to the House Committee on the House Committee on the Judiciary.
The timeline for ratifying the original ERA has expired, and retroactively removing a deadline that expired nearly 40 years ago does nothing to change that fact. The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg correctly asserted that the only legal, constitutionally viable path forward for the ERA would be to reintroduce the amendment and start from scratch, giving both members of Congress and state legislatures the opportunity to evaluate it in the current context. Additionally, it should be noted that our Constitution already guarantees equal rights to all United States citizens under the 14th Amendment, and that there are existing federal laws that prohibit sex-based discrimination. With that said, please know I will keep your thoughts in mind should any additional legislation regarding the ERA come to the House floor for a vote.
Here's the letter that 46 senators wrote to Biden back in November 2024 supporting the ERA. They assert in the letter that the amendment meets the ratification requirements.
Hope this helps.
https://8fdaf192-a63f-4cc1-ba48-30c5727fb699.usrfiles.com/ugd/8fdaf1_6808cbdc9b2f4e948d9189deb6f3db9b.pdf
Happy to see that both my Senators signed the letter. I've already asked President Biden to do so.
Thank you
I just called one of my representatives in Arizona and asked for publication of the ERA. The woman answering the phone asked a lot of questions. When I explained that all of the requirements have been met except for publication by the National Archivist, and that the previous Trump administration did not do this. She said she imagines that the Representative would stand with Trump, but that she would pass the message to Rep. Crane (AZ).
Good for you! Thanks!
I was surprised and disappointed at the number of democrats who voted yes on the defense bill that included the anti-trans provision. My reps voted no, but I'll still contact them to thank them for standing up for LGBTQ rights and encourage them to keep doing so. I'll be writing Jeffries, as well as my senators.
Thanks for mentioning Erin in the Morning. I subscribe to her newsletter. As she often notes, appeasement doesn't work. It simply emboldens bad actors to carry their discrimination further.
Is the audio option coming back?
I don't know. Is the Ai reader not working?
Thank you so much, Jessica, for adding the ERA into your list of action items. I remember when the ERA was first proposed. I was 21 years old and attended the inauguration of Ronald Reagan with my then Republican boyfriend. Needless to say, I got into an argument with some young Republicans about the ERA. I still can't believe that it has languished this long. How difficult is it to imagine a world where everyone is equal? We were all so full of hope. I can't believe how now we're going backwards. The ERA needs to become the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. Thank you to everyone who has called and written. And thank you to Indivisible. They're a great organization.
I agree LOTM was a poor movie. Not Battlefield Earth bad, but bad.
There you go!
It never fails to amaze me the things people will leap to vociferously defend. Like, it's not considered a classic, even though it is old enough at this point to be. You weren't slandering a sacred cow for purposes of pure provocation. It is not like you opened the letter by saying "Hey, this is random, but Casablanca is total crap, though not as much as Citizen Kane or that piece of trash City Lights. Sorry excuses for cinema, amirite you guys?"
Makes me wonder what other minor pop culture curios from the early '90s people hold in surprisingly high esteem. "The last season of The Golden Girls is severely underrated and I don't want to hear anything to the contrary! I will block out your poor opinions by blasting one of the albums Prince made when his name was merely a symbol, which everyone knows are his finest works!"
I tried to register for the States Project but it said something about belonging to CG….what is that.?
Oh sorry! A Giving Circle. Tell them you're a part of Chop Wood, Carry Statehouses!
Oh, thanks…I also belong to SGCC
You are doing great stuff! Thank you….scary times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v8pM7cHrT8 This is the original song that was used in Last of the Mohicans, written by Dougie MacLean, a wonderful Scots musician. I loved the movie. And did not find it inauthentic vis a vis the Native people.
Thank you a bunch for all your work. It's a TIME!!!
I just called my senators about NDAA and ERA -- easy to leave messages when their offices are closed! I believe the staff tallies the number of calls, so it's worthwhile. I agree with your disgust with Hakeem Jeffries. We need a new person in his role, obviously!
Good lord, we do NOT need a new person in Jeffries position, what we need is for him to be Speaker. He outmanuevered Johnson at every turn last year and kept the party from totally imploding in public this summer. Under his watch, we actually gained a few seats in the House last month, despite disaster at the top of the ticket. He has the complete support of every last person in the caucus.
You guys, there is gonna be nothing but outrageous nonsense coming our way until the next midterms, and we are going to have to be extremely selective with what battles we pick. We need to give our leaders space to come up with a new vision and strategy, because what we were doing clearly failed. I'm proudly LGBT, but even I can tell that the leader of the House Democrats voting to leave the entire military without funding over a provision about trans kids is guaranteed political suicide so spectacular the Repubs would metaphorically parade his body around for a decade.
Absolutely!
I wanted to let you know that, thanks to your Substack, my doughty band of postcard writers (over 7000 handwritten, hand addressed postcards stamped and mailed to voters) gathered again and we did over 1000 (not a typo) cards asking Biden to have the Archivist publish the ERA.
I just tried to reach Senator Laphonza Butler to leave a message consonant with one of your recent recommended scripts. I've left multiple messages for her in the past, but this time I got a recorded voice message from "Senator Adam Schiff." Huh? I'm confused. Why would Schiff have already taken over Senator Butler's phone number (which, by the way, still shows as Butler's number when I Googled her) before he's sworn in to the next Congress? Mainly, I'm trying to figure out how to reach Senator BUTLER for the remaining days of her term as Senator. Any guidance?
Schiff was sworn in as Senator today. He is technically also filling in for the last few weeks of Feinstein's term, as Butler was only serving to fill in a vacancy (though she did a fine job). If you are in CA, he is now our other Senator with Padilla. And not a moment too soon.
Brand new here. Just signed up. Put folks in contacts, made calls, did texts. Thanks and enjoying this so far...