Equal Rights Amendment One State to Thirty-Eight Equal Rights Amendment History Why we need it Virginia’s path to ratification

Why we need the Equal Rights Amendment The American Bar Association, in a letter dated June 6, 2018 and sent to the Honorable Carolyn Maloney, identified three immediate effects of ratification: Establishes gender equality under the law as a fundamental and irrevocable tenet of our society Requires all judges to apply the highest standard of scrutiny when deciding cases involving sex discrimination; would mean gender discrimination receives the same standard of review as when deciding cases involving discrimination based on race, religion, and national origin Protects and reinvigorates enforcement of existing gender equality laws “Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only, issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t.” — the late Justice Scalia, 2010, UC Hastings College of Law

2018 General Assembly Overview Equal Rights Amendment passed the Virginia Senate five times since 2011, most recently in 2016 In 2018 the patron listing achieved levels never previously seen in Virginia 21 of 40 Senators signed on as patrons 19 Democrats, 2 Republicans 52 of 100 Delegates signed on as patrons 48 Democrats, 4 Republicans The Equal Rights Amendment had additional supporters besides the above patron lists and would have passed easily if it had made it to the floor in either/both the House and Senate

2019 Path to the Floor One of two committees: Privileges & Elections / Rules House Speaker Kirk Cox indicates preference by assignment P&E (chaired by Mark Cole-R) = not likely to pass Rules (chaired by Kirk Cox-R) = likely to pass Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment indicates preference by assignment P&E (chaired by Jill Vogel-R) = likely to pass Rules (chaired by Ryan McDougle-R) = not likely to pass Rules committee chairs can move the ERA resolution directly to the floor