Sean Patrick Maloney: “as a proud New Yorker, I rise today to mark the anniversary of the first women's suffrage convention in Seneca Falls…”

“as a proud New Yorker, I rise today to mark the anniversary of the first women's suffrage convention in Seneca Falls, New York. Our founding mothers and their successors ultimately gained the right to vote in 1920. Unfortunately, it is the only women's right in the Constitution. The suffragettes also called for equality of opportunity for women. That is our moral mandate and our great unfinished business. And 157 years after Seneca Falls, we find ourselves in the midst of a rollback of rights we have already won. Passing the Equal Rights Amendment would protect women against these rollbacks. Title 7 has been weakened. Women's role in the military has been attacked, and Head Start, affordable housing, and child care programs that most benefit women and children are being slashed. We owe it to the suffragettes to establish that all men and women are created equal. It is time to realize our foremothers' goals and get equal rights written into the Constitution. ____________________”