April 20, 2024
In person and streamed online
Meeting commenced at 7:15pm
Livestream available here: https://www.facebook.com/100082905874592/videos/283632184034481/
Presentation download:
action-ridge-era-presentation-aj-conroy-june-2023-1Download
Nan introduced AJ Conroy, an attorney and a member of ERA Illinois, who lives in Park Ridge.
AJ discussed the status of efforts to pass the ERA – Equal Rights Amendment. It has been officially ratified; now it needs to be affirmed. Her slides will be available on the Action Ridge website at www.actionridgepr.com.
ERA Coalition is a consortium of local, state and national organizations (more than 300) working toward constitutional equality. ERA Illinois is a statewide organization working on the same initiate within the state.
In 2020, Virginia was 38th state to ratify the ERA, giving it the necessary ¾ of states needed to have ratified the amendment. Prior to asking the states to ratify, the ERA received support from 2/3 of both chambers of Congress.
Even though enough states ratified, the ERA did not find a soft landing and ended up in legal purgatory. Constitutional amendments are messy - this is not unusual. The issue relates to conflicting windows of time in which the amendment must be ratified.
The archivist of the United States has not yet published the amendment in the Federal Register. They are waiting for the President to direct such action so as not to be seen as acting alone. Kwame Raoul (IL), along with the Attorney Generals of Nevada and Virginia sued the archivist to compel them to publish the amendment.
There are ardent supporters in Congress, including Ayanna Pressley and Cori Bush. There is also energy from young people representing different races, ethnicities, gender identities and sexual orientations. A youth convention will take place later this year in Seneca Falls, where the suffrage movement began.
States are working to push the ERA forward by making resolutions that affirm that the ERA is fully ratified. These efforts relate to SJRes4 and HJres 25. The ERA Caucus (5th largest caucus) affirms the ERA is ratified. They are now trying to overcome a filibuster.
There are things that we can do individually and collectively to move the ERA forward.
Individual actions:
Group actions:
In order to raise this as a priority for the Biden administration, focus on Illinois members of his advisory committee: Senator Tammy Duckworth, Representative Nikki Budzinski, Governor JB Pritzker, and Representative Lauren Underwood.
Resolutions help with education/awareness and also unlock lobbying resources of the groups that have them.
Recently, opposition to the ERA has been based on the concern that the amendment would confer protections on trans people.
At the end of AJ’s presentation, people in attendance signed cards for elected officials at the local, state, and national level to keep this issue front and center for them.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Alissa Goldwasser and Nan Parson
Please see AJ’s post-meeting notes below for further action and education.
What you can do:
1. Thank our legislators in Congress – HJRes 25/SJRes with handwritten notes, and social media posts (Facebook, Twitter)
2. Thank our legislators in Springfield for their vote on HJRes 20
3. Stay current. Follow @ERAcoalition, @ERAillinois and signal boost (share posts about the ERA to your followers).
4. Include the ERA on Voter Report Cards (HJR25/SJR4).
5. Donate to Seneca Falls convention for youth meeting on the ERA - https://secure.actblue.com/donate/era-centennial
6. Ask your professional associations to pass a resolution affirming the Equal Rights Amendment. Sample here - https://voteequality.us/resolution
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