Senate will vote on Equal Rights Amendment this week, Schumer says

Get ready for a historic moment, folks! The Senate will be voting on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) this week, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s announcement on Monday.

“In this ominous hour of American history, the Equal Rights Amendment has never been as necessary and urgent as it is today,” Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.

Why is this vote so important? Well, Schumer argues that recent events like the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the ongoing legal dispute over the popular abortion drug mifepristone have left women in this country facing an uncertain future.

“Recent events like the Supreme Court’s horrible Dobbs decision, uncertainty with critical care drugs like Mifepristone, and a slew of proposed state actions have women in this country facing an uncertain future,” he said.

The ERA, a proposed constitutional amendment that would ensure that all people have the same legal rights, regardless of their sexual orientation, was approved by both chambers of Congress in 1972 and forwarded to the states for ratification. Although it agreed to extend the deadline to 1982, the amendment was eventually adopted by 35 states.

But now, with Virginia becoming the 38^th state to ratify the ERA in 2020, the legislation that will be debated on the Senate floor this week would acknowledge the ERA as “valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution.”

“We are here to stand united, and inch by inch restore, fight for, and expand women’s rights so that the women of today and the generations of tomorrow will not know a future with less access than their mothers had,” Schumer said.

“The ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment would finally provide a constitutional remedy against sex discrimination – pushing our country one step closer to finally achieving equal justice under the law.”

The measure was presented by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and has also received the support of 52 senators.

Of course, there are still obstacles to the ERA’s inclusion in the Constitution, including certain legal concerns over whether Congress has the power to extend the initial deadline for ratification and if states can withdraw their ratification. Five states, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee, and South Dakota, have even chosen to repeal their ratification of the ERA.

But let’s focus on the positive and hope that this historic vote will bring us one step closer to achieving true equality for all. Stay informed and receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free by subscribing here.

with Tom Maoli

with Mark Geist

with Dr. Dave Brat

with Jobob

By Jane Lanhee Lee OAKLAND, California (Reuters) – Terra Quantum, a quantum computer hardware and software startup based in Germany and Switzerland,…

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday the country supports the development of industrial uses of generative artificial…

By Hyunsu Yim (Reuters) -Netflix Inc said on Tuesday it will invest $2.5 billion in South Korea over the next four years…

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s financial hub of Shanghai will promote investments in specialized technology including chip design, circuitry and artificial intelligence as…