The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

The United States Constitution does not guarantee equal rights for girls and women. The Equal Rights Amendment would guarantee them the civil right to equal constitutional protection. They could not be discriminated against on account of their sex.
“Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t.”
- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
                                       The ERA 
  • 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.
NC4ERA and NC NOW standing vigil at the North Carolina General Assembly in 2015.
NC4ERA Marching
HK on J  Raleigh, NC

Why We Need the ERA

"Born female, not one 'Woman American'
​ has ever drawn a breath fully equal under her own constitution." 
- Marena Groll, NC4ERA
The ERA is a fundamental statement of principle that equality between the sexes is a human right. Yet, our constitution, revered for its embodiment of upholding human rights, does not include a sex equality provision. Most countries guarantee such equality in their formal statements of standing on human rights.

 Sex discrimination denies women equal access to opportunity and justice. Women are without effective legal recourse to combat economic inequality, pregnancy discrimination, violence and other discriminative practices. Federal laws are not comprehensive. State laws are not uniform and can be reduced and repealed.

The Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution doesn’t protect women from sex discrimination. The 14th Amendment provides equal protection of the law, but claims of discrimination on account of sex invoke intermediate rather than strict scrutiny. This is a lower standard of judicial review than for racial discrimination claims. 
Resource: www.eracoalition.org/about.php