That thought that equal rights for women should be enshrined in the constitution was an important cause for many as early as 1776. That didn’t happen.
A century and a half later, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, but an Equal Rights Amendment, expressing “equality of rights shall not be denied…on account of sex” was introduced in 1923.
An amendment was needed, said women’s rights advocate Alice Paul was needed to secure women’s freedom from legal sex discrimination.
Ninety-five years later, a grassroots effort has worked to reintroduce the amendment. Nearly two-thirds of the states—37 of a necessary 38—have adopted the resolution.
Virginia could be the 38th if the state passes the amendment during the 2019 legislative session.
As the Blacksburg Town Council voted to adopt a Resolution In Support Of Ratification By The Commonwealth Of Virginia Of The Equal Rights Amendment To The United States Constitution at Tuesday night’s meeting (Resolution 10-E-18: A), Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith, calling her “the champion of the resolution,” asked Councilwoman Lauren Colliver to read the resolution.
“There has been a grassroots effort to encourage the Virginia General Assembly to pass the ERA for years,” Colliver wrote in an email. “This year there is a new effort to have local town, city and county boards pass resolutions to encourage the General Assembly to pass the ERA.”
Montgomery County Board of Supervisors added the amendment to its list of legislative priorities for 2019.
For more information about the amendment, its history and its possible future, visit www.equalrightsamendment.org/index.htm.
The resolution is available on the town’s website.
