Mary Gay Scanlon: “I include in the Record a January 15 New York Times article, entitled: ``Why the Equal Rights Amendment is Back.'' [From…”

“I include in the Record a January 15 New York Times article, entitled: ``Why the Equal Rights Amendment is Back.'' [From the New York Times, Jan. 15, 2020] Why the Equal Rights Amendment Is Back (By Patrick J. Lyons, Maggie Astor and Maya Salam) Of all the laws the Virginia legislature may pass now that Democrats have won control of it, none have been so long in the making as the Equal Rights Amendment. First proposed almost a century ago and passed by Congress in 1972, the E.R.A., which would add a provision to the Constitution guaranteeing equal rights to men and women, could have sweeping implications if it takes effect. Both houses of the Virginia Legislature approved the ratification resolution on Wednesday. Supporters hope that will lift the amendment over the threshold to become part of the federal Constitution. But there is considerable dispute over whether the state's action will have any legal effect or merely be symbolic. Here's what it is all about. What does the amendment say? The E.R.A. is three sentences long, and the key one is the first: ``Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.'' The other two are about putting it into effect. By some estimates, 80 percent of Americans mistakenly believe that women and men are already explicitly guaranteed equal rights by the Constitution.…”