Arizona House Dems Drop 2018 ERA Bill

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ERA in Arizona House
Arizona House representatives dropped the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) into the hopper on January 11, 2018.

In 2017, the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced in eight states, debated in three, and ratified in one– Nevada. The Arizona Legislature was one of the bodies that debated the ERA. (Watch the video.) I have vowed to introduce the ERA every year until it is ratified by the states. Only two more states are needed. This could be the year the ERA is finally sent back to Congress to become an amendment to the US Constitution.

On Thursday, January 11, 2018, I dropped the ERA– with the help of some of my Democratic sisters. All of the House Democrats signed the bill. I stopped asking Republicans to sign the ERA, when I confirmed that Republican Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita also has introduced the ERA this year.  Ugenti-Rita and Rep. Heather Carter were the only two Republicans who voted to hear the ERA in 2017 (rather than shutting down debate, as the Republican leadership wanted to do.)

You’ll remember that in 2017 the Democrats forced the ERA debate by using parliamentary procedures. We did this because Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, chair of the Judiciary Committee, refused to hear it in committee. (Committee chairs often kill bills with this parliamentary procedure.)

In 2018, the ERA is coming in the front door of the Arizona Legislature.

ERA advocates participated in the Together We Rise rally on opening day at the Arizona Legislature in 2018. Besides me on the far left, legislative candidates Victoria Steele (third from left) and Sharon Girard (far right) are also pictured above.

Many statewide groups are backing ratification of the ERA in Arizona– including the National Organization for Women (NOW), the League of Women Voters, the American Association of University Women, the Federation of Democratic Women, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), and more. Many of these groups showed up on opening day to rally for the ERA and have events planned for this session.

The ERA needs state legislators to allow for debate and to vote for ratification. The ERA needs Congressional representatives and senators to eliminate the ratification deadline.  Ask your legislators, Congressional representatives/senators, and candidates for elected office: 1) if they back equal pay and equal protection under the law for women and 2) if they will help us in this fight for equality.

In case they “haven’t had time to read it,” here is the text of the ERA:

“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

It’s been almost 100 years since the ERA was originally proposed. I look forward to working with Republican Reps. Ugenti-Rita and Carter and the Democrats to get this heard in 2018.

Grassroots support is crucial. Let’s do this. #ItsTime #ShePersisted

Handmaids in Arizona
Even the handmaidens showed up for opening day at the Arizona Legislature.

 

7 thoughts on “Arizona House Dems Drop 2018 ERA Bill”

  1. What an odd country we live in, where the ERA is controversial.

    The insecurity of old white men is the cause of much of the world’s problems.

    Thanks for your work on this.

    • The insecurity of old conservative white men is the cause of the much of the world’s problems. FIFY :O)

      • Luckily, there are so many women (and Democratic men) in the Arizona Legislature, that we can ratify the ERA without any votes from Republican men.

        It was interesting to listen to Governor Ducey tout the accomplishments of Arizona’s female politicians and not mention ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

        What are they afraid of?

        • They’re afraid of losing the patriarchal society them imagine themselves to be the masters of. For all the money millionaire/billionaire extremists spend on getting their lickspittles (like Ducey) into office, that money would be better spent on a top of the line psychiatrist to find out what’s wrong with them. (Hint: a complete disregard for any humanity that doesn’t meet their approval along with unbridled greed.)

          • Yeah, I don’t get it. In my various careers spanning decades, I’ve reported to women managers, I’ve had women on my teams report to me, I’ve had women as peers, as customers, as vendors and sales reps, and never once did I feel like I was “losing” anything.

            I can say the exact same thing about pretty much any race or religion you can think of, too, working in tech is like working at the UN, and I always thought it was a privilege to work with the smartest people from around the world.

            In fact, I’ve always felt that my career and future and life was 100% in my control, and I’ve never felt the need to blame women, brown skinned people, or immigrants, even when I competed against them, or felt the need to use laws or a Bible to get an edge.

            Weird, right? Maybe I’m just no good at being a middle aged white man 🙂

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