Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I thank Senator Cardin for his leadership on this issue, not only in this Congress but in the previous Congresses when we have attempted to advance this very important measure. What we have in front of us right now is S.J. Res. 4, an amendment to add the Equal Rights Amendment to our Constitution. It is pretty simple. 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 is as simple as that. That is it. That is the full substance of the Equal Rights Amendment. We refer to it as the ERA. I think most people in this country believe that it is already a part of the Constitution, that it is already a protection under it. Justice Scalia stated more than a decade ago now: Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn't. A little bit of the history here: The ERA was first proposed back in 1923, 3 years after ratification of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote, fully 100 years removed from where we are today. Now, 50 years later, the ERA finally passed Congress, was signed by President Carter in 1972. There was a 7-year deadline for ratification. Thirty-five States moved quickly, including the State of Alaska, within that deadline. It was extended once, in 1982, to give the remaining States some more time to consider it. But momentum waned as other things took precedent.…”