Equal rights for women should be in constitution
2/12/2015, 1:04 p.m.
For the third time in four years, the Virginia Senate has voted to ratify the long overdue Equal Rights Amendment.
If ratified by the House of Delegates, Virginia would become the 36th out of the 38 states needed to ratify this important economic and civil rights constitutional amendment for women.
Despite efforts in the House of Delegates to stall or kill the bill, bringing the measure to the floor of the House for a vote is fully legal and viable, and is in fact an example of one of the few constitutional obligations a state legislature has.
Ninety-seven percent of Americans believe the U.S. Constitution should include an equal rights amendment for women, while 72 percent think it already is in the Constitution.
What the House of Delegates is being asked to do is advance our country closer to what most Americans think exists.
EILEEN DAVIS Richmond
The writer is co-founder of Women-Matter.org
