After safely reaching the ground, the jumpers participated in a news conference — with greetings from Virginia First Lady Pam Northam, center — calling for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment guaranteeing equal rights to people regardless of gender. The summit focused on six areas of legislation to further the cause of equality for women — pay equity; pregnancy; sexual and domestic violence; campus life; incarceration; and the Constitution. If ratified in Virginia, the ERA would reach the 38 states required to be added as an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It is unclear what Virginia’s approval would mean because the deadline for ratification expired in 1982 and has not been extended or revised.
