Equal Rights Amendment

On this day in 1972 the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), first introduced to Congress in 1923 (1923!), was submitted to the states for ratification

Today I’m calling out Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia—the 15 states that failed to ratify the ERA by the 1982 deadline.

The full text:

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

 Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

 Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

The biggest opposition to the ERA came in the form of Phyllis Schaffly, who maniacally campaigned against it on the grounds that “[t]he claim that American women are downtrodden and unfairly treated is the fraud of the century. The truth is that American women never had it so good. Why should we lower ourselves to ‘equal rights’ when we already have the status of special privilege?” Also, fear of unisex bathrooms.

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