West Virginia Legislature Confirms Women Are Second Class Citizens

//

(Photo by Joel Sheakoski / Barcroft Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

On Friday, Republicans in West Virginia’s state senate voted unanimously to rescind the state’s ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which would have guaranteed the equality of women under the US Constitution.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Enable lazy loading. googletag.pubads().enableLazyLoad({ renderMarginPercent: 150, mobileScaling: 2 }); // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-top-300x250" ); googletag.enableServices(); });

The state legislature approved the Amendment in 1972, but the Amendment was never enacted because not enough states voted to ratify, despite congress voting to extend the deadline until 1982. But in 2020, Virginia’s newly Democratic legislature finally voted to approve making it the 38th state, and pushing the measure over the required three-fourths threshold.

Sponsored Finding Opportunity in Adversity Learn what your law firm can do to be successful and find opportunity in the face of adversity, with this free on demand webcast. From AbovetheLaw And Thomson Reuters

And even though the Justice Department and US District Judge Rudolph Contreras agreed that the deadline had passed and Virginia’s vote could not make the ERA in to the Twenty-Eighth Amendment, West Virginia’s legislators were taking no chances. Lest any little ladies in the Mountain State get confused about their place in the world, all 23 of the senate’s Republicans voted in favor of Senate Concurrent Resolution 44, “Clarifying that the 1972 ratification by the 60th Legislature of the proposed 1972 Equal Rights amendment to the Constitution of the United States only was valid through March 22, 1979.”

The US House voted to extend the deadline and count the previously submitted votes for ratification, although the measure has gone nowhere in the Senate. But just in case it does, West Virginia is making darn sure that no one plans to rely on their approval to enshrine the rights of women in the Constitution. Because while in principle they are “in agreement women and men should enjoy equal rights in the eyes of the law,” they’re more concerned about deadlines.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Enable lazy loading. googletag.pubads().enableLazyLoad({ renderMarginPercent: 150, mobileScaling: 2 }); // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-middle-300x250" ); googletag.enableServices(); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Enable lazy loading. googletag.pubads().enableLazyLoad({ renderMarginPercent: 150, mobileScaling: 2 }); // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-storycontent-440x100" ); googletag.enableServices(); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Enable lazy loading. googletag.pubads().enableLazyLoad({ renderMarginPercent: 150, mobileScaling: 2 }); // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-in-story-youtube-1x1" ); googletag.enableServices(); });

Indeed, they treated the issue with all the seriousness and deliberation of an overdue library book which must be returned before it can be renewed. The bill passed without discussion or debate, with just 75 seconds between resolution and the vote.

As the AP notes, the bill was supported by abortion foes who fear that codifying women’s equality would give them ideas about demanding equality in health care. And we can’t have that, can we!

Sponsored Sponsored How Legal, Engineering Teams Can Collaborate To Reduce Open Source Risk Our friends at FOSSA provide concrete best practices for law departments in this free white paper.  From Above The Law and Fossa Sponsored A Complete Guide To Managing Your Trust Account This free report will help you say goodbye to IOLTA angst. From LawPay and Above The Law Sponsored Finding Opportunity in Adversity Learn what your law firm can do to be successful and find opportunity in the face of adversity, with this free on demand webcast. From AbovetheLaw And Thomson Reuters Sponsored Introducing The Complete Legal Tech-To-English Dictionary! From 'AI' to 'CRM' to 'KPI' to 'WISP,' this is your guide to what’s *really* going on in law office technology From Above The Law and Wolters Kluwer

WVa Senate rescinds 1972 Equal Rights Amendment ratification [AP]

Elizabeth Dye (@5DollarFeminist) lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.

Sponsored Sponsored Introducing The Complete Legal Tech-To-English Dictionary! From 'AI' to 'CRM' to 'KPI' to 'WISP,' this is your guide to what’s *really* going on in law office technology From Above The Law and Wolters Kluwer Sponsored How Branding And Social Media Can Build Your Firm’s Business Download this free eBook from our friends at Thomson Reuters, and learn to use social media to win new clients. From Above the Law and Thomson Reuters Topics

Constitutional Law, Government, Women's Rights