海角大神

Scott Surovell was a baby in a stroller when his mother took him to hearings on the Equal Rights Amendment in the early 1970s, and growing up, he often heard stories about the need for the ERA.

Now a Democratic state senator in Virginia, the 46-year-old has introduced a bill to ratify the ERA for the past six years, three when he was a member of the Virginia House and three in the Senate. Senator Surovell has fallen short every time 鈥� most recently Feb. 9, when House and Senate committees quashed it. The Republican committee chairmen said floor votes were improper because the time limit for ratification set by Congress expired in 1982.

This year鈥檚 loss came despite a spirited demonstration by more than a hundred supporters in the Capitol, who sang 鈥淲e Shall Overcome鈥� and shouted 鈥淪hame! Shame!鈥�

Many Americans either think the ERA is already part of the United States Constitution or that it has gone the way of John Travolta鈥檚 white leisure suit in 鈥淪aturday Night Fever.鈥� But the fight goes on, and it is drawing fresh momentum from the 2016 election and the #MeToo movement.

The Constitution says an amendment must be approved by three-fourths of the states. But it does not mention a deadline, so supporters argue that Congress can extend the 1982 ERA deadline again, or waive it. The 27th Amendment on congressional pay raises, for example, was ratified 203 years after Congress proposed it.

Nevada last March became the 36th state to approve the ERA, meaning that supporters need only two more states to reach the 38 required for ratification. Before Nevada, the last state to ratify had been Indiana in 1977.

鈥淭he votes have all been hair-breadth losses 鈥� until Nevada,鈥� said Roberta W. Francis, ERA education consultant for the Alice Paul Institute, a nonprofit in New Jersey that advocates for women. 鈥淭his is a time when there鈥檚 a lot more energy under the ERA.鈥�

Besides Nevada and Virginia, the states that did not ratify by the 1982 deadline are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah.

Twenty-three states have added equal rights amendments to their state constitutions, mostly during the years the national ERA effort was moribund. Oregon added an equal rights guarantee to its Constitution in 2014, and legislators in Delaware and Vermont are working on state ERAs this year.

鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing a sea change where it鈥檚 becoming much harder to deny the truths of women鈥檚 voices,鈥� said Georgia state Sen. Nan Orrock, a Democrat who has worked to ratify the ERA during 31 years in the legislature. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a palpable sense of women on the move.鈥�

Nevada Surprise

The federal ERA鈥檚 main provision states that 鈥渆quality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the US or any State on account of sex.鈥�

An ERA was first introduced in Congress in 1923, and Congress approved it in 1972, sending it to the states for ratification with a deadline of 1979, and extending it in 1978, to 1982.

In the current Congress, US Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, and US Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat, have proposed removing the deadline, allowing the ERA to become part of the Constitution as soon as a 38th state ratifies it. US Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat, would start over with new language in a 鈥渇resh start鈥� amendment.

One question mark is how to count the five states 鈥� Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky, and South Dakota 鈥� that later rescinded their ratifications. Courts have not ruled whether rescission is lawful.

In Nevada, the ERA鈥檚 prospects were bleak until just recently. Democratic Nevada state Sen. Pat Spearman got nowhere when she pushed for ERA ratification in 2015.

鈥淧eople would tell me it was nothing more than a stunt, it didn鈥檛 mean anything, and we shouldn鈥檛 be wasting people鈥檚 time,鈥� she said.

But when Democrats won control of the Nevada Legislature in 2016, Ms. Spearman saw her chance. Another advantage: Female lawmakers now make up about 40 percent of the Nevada Legislature, as much as any state.

Last March, the Nevada Senate passed the measure 13 to 8, with all Democrats and one Republican female senator voting in favor. In the Nevada Assembly, the vote was 28 to 14, again with all Democrats and one Republican woman voting for passage.

鈥淚f you had called me in mid-2016, I would not have said Nevada would ratify,鈥� said Bettina Hager, Washington, D.C., director of the ERA Coalition and Fund for Women鈥檚 Equality, an advocacy group.

鈥淲hat happened was everything was lined up,鈥� Ms. Hager said. 鈥淵ou need three things to be in play: a strong lead sponsor, advocates working on the ground, and the makeup of the Legislature. Nobody was expecting it to go that well.鈥�

Illinois as Epicenter

Illinois, long the epicenter of the Stop ERA movement, is poised to be a battleground once again.

State Sen. Heather Steans, a Democrat, said a number of Republicans who support the ERA but fear a challenge from the right have told her privately they will vote for it in April, after the March 20 primary.

Pro-ERA groups have formed a coalition that is sponsoring screenings around the state of a documentary about women, 鈥淓qual Means Equal.鈥�

Michelle Fadeley, the Illinois chapter president for the National Organization for Women, said for the last six months she has been speaking at least four times a month to large audiences at screenings. 鈥淲e are highly hopeful it鈥檚 going to happen this year in Illinois.鈥�

Phyllis Schlafly, who was born in St. Louis and lived in Alton, Ill., was the face of the national fight against the ERA during the 1970s and early 鈥�80s. Schlafly argued that the amendment would lead to coed bathrooms, require women to be drafted into the military, and taxpayers to pay for abortions, among other things.

Over the years, the kinds of changes in society Schlafly warned about have come to pass 鈥� without the ERA. Same-sex marriage and adoption by gay couples are legal, women voluntarily serve in combat, and mothers can be required to pay child support.

Schlafly died in 2016 at 92, but the Eagle Forum she founded continues the fight, using many of her arguments.

鈥淵ou could compel women to be drafted and put into combat,鈥� said Elise Bouc, chairwoman of Stop ERA Illinois. 鈥淣ow they have a choice, but they鈥檇 have to be drafted in equal ratios to men and placed in equal ratios in front-line combat.鈥�

The Catholic Conference of Illinois, which lobbies on behalf of church members in the state Capitol, also plans to oppose the ERA, said Bob Gilligan, conference executive director. The conference did not take a stand the last two legislative sessions, when it was focused on tax issues involving church schools.

鈥淭his issue has been around since 1972, and many believe the clock has expired with the time allotted to pass the ERA,鈥� Gilligan said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e also opposed because the language should more accurately reflect current issues.鈥� He said his group is worried that courts might use the ERA to mandate publicly funded abortions, or force Catholic hospitals to perform gender reassignment surgeries.

Stuck in the 鈥�70s?

But some legal scholars have the opposite worry: that the 1970s ERA isn鈥檛 expansive enough.

鈥淢y idea for the ERA today is we should not be stuck in the 1970s,鈥� said Julie C. Suk, professor at Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University in New York City, who has studied equal rights measures around the world.

鈥淲e need to start thinking about remaining inequalities 鈥� persistent pay inequity, lack of accommodation for pregnancies, and lack of paid parental leave,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ill the ERA help us solve these problems or stand in our way?鈥�

The current ERA language prohibits discrimination by states and the federal government but not corporations. Judges could decide what the amendment covers, Ms. Suk said, adding that for judges to understand the amendment鈥檚 intent, supporters need to be loud.

In Virginia, Surovell is planning his strategy for next year.

鈥淚鈥檓 going to find a Republican chief sponsor,鈥� he said, noting that the ERA has bipartisan support in the General Assembly, and two Republicans on the Senate Rules Committee voted in favor.

鈥淎ll politicians 鈥� Republican and Democrat 鈥� need to be aware that women are very upset right now with what鈥檚 going on in Washington,鈥� Surovell said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e looking for an affirmative story.鈥�

This story was reported by Stateline.