The women of the United States have been waiting for more than a century to see the Equal Rights Amendment made part of the Constitution. They have waited long enough. It is time for President Joe Biden to act.
First introduced in 1923 and passed by Congress in 1972, the ERA achieved full ratification in 2020 when Virginia became the 38th state to ratify. Yet, it remains unpublished due to procedural delays. This historic injustice can and must be corrected by Biden, who has the authority to instruct the U.S. archivist to certify and publish the ERA.
Gender equality is not a partisan issue; it is a fundamental principle of our democratic republic, one that should be freely embraced by citizens and leaders from sea to shining sea. Republican Richard Nixon demonstrated this fact, sponsoring the ERA and pushing for its ratification.
Publishing the ERA would affirm the legal equality of all Americans, regardless of sex, and provide courts with a vital tool to protect against discrimination and the rollback of women’s rights, whether at the local, state or federal level. As Dianna Wynn, president of the League of Women Voters of the United States, recently stated, “Democracy works best when it works for all of us.” The ERA is a crucial step toward ensuring that equality is not just a privilege, but the constitutionally guaranteed right of every American.
In this pivotal moment, we urge him to act boldly and decisively. Please do not force women to wait another hundred years. The time for equality is now.
— Jane Ruby, president, League of Women Voters of Chicago
Step to protect gender equality
President Joe Biden must act with urgency to protect gender equality by instructing the U.S. archivist to publish the Equal Rights Amendment, certifying it as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The ERA, passed by Congress in 1972, states that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the U.S. or by any State on account of sex. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.” In 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA, allowing the ERA to meet all requirements for ratification by three-fourths of the states.
Despite significant legal and legislative advances made in recent decades, women still do not receive equal pay; many are subject to workplace harassment, discrimination in hiring, discrimination based on pregnancy, domestic violence and limited access to comprehensive health care.
After the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned the right women had to abortion for 50 years, it is clear that there is a greater need than ever for women to have their rights protected under the Constitution. According to a recent Gallup poll, most Americans believe abortion should be legal, and the majority also disagree with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision. Yet, legislators in many states have passed laws that resulted in women being unable to receive reproductive health care, with disastrous consequences to their health, their fertility and even their lives in some cases.
Although Americans in several states across the country just voted to protect women’s reproductive health care, these new laws still do not ensure that women and their families have full economic opportunity and personal freedom to work and live in any state they choose, not just where they can be assured of access to reproductive health care. Likewise, women should not have to leave their state to receive such care.
According to fact-checking website Snopes.com, Project 2025, the blueprint for Donald Trump’s incoming administration, calls for the Food and Drug Administration to reverse approval of abortion pills, prohibit the mailing of abortion pills and criminalize health care providers prescribing abortion pills. It also seeks to restrict access to contraceptives and calls for the tracking and reporting of women’s miscarriages and abortions. Trump has not been consistent in his opposition to a federal ban on abortion.
The Supreme Court, Trump, the GOP and our state legislators are just not listening to us. It is time for Biden to act now, with urgency.
— Sandra Alexander, Glen Ellyn
Stand up against hateful efforts
Following the election, several things happened. On the night of the election, a phrase appeared on social media and was viewed millions of times in the first couple days — “your body, my choice.” Since then, women and girls have reported being harassed with this phrase. At least one school district sent a notice to parents saying that boys were using the phrase to target girls in the district.
Also after the election, texts went out to Black people across the country, telling them they would be picked up to pick cotton at the nearest plantation, and calls to a suicide prevention line for LGBTQ individuals increased by 700%.
I find this hatred unfathomable. I think we can all agree it should not be tolerated. I invite all of us to do what we can to stand up against this.
— John Sullivan-Knoff, Chicago
Confirmation process a priority
Let the process work!
Everyone, including the president-elect, should let the U.S. Constitution do its job. In this case, Senate confirmation of the president’s nominations for his Cabinet. Senate confirmation is one of the checks and balances that must be allowed to work. Senators should resist the president-elect’s calls for recess appointments.
By seeking recess appointments and asking for a speedy confirmation process, the president-elect signals his recognition that these may not be the best people. The Senate should make the confirmation process a top priority. Such a mutual commitment supports the Constitution, whose rules exist to confirm and support qualified officials to run major parts of the government.
The confirmation process is not foolproof; it is a political process. The visibility created by confirmation hearings and votes are essential to building everyone’s trust in government. The president-elect believes that he has a mandate from the election. Fine, but a mandate does not abrogate the need to let the process work.
— Mark McDonald, Chicago
Celebration by other nations
Listen. Can you hear it? It’s laughter. Coming from capitals around the world. From Moscow. And Beijing, Tehran and Pyongyang.
And now words. Can you make them out? Yes! They are: “It’s unbelievable that they could be so gullible! To believe the facile lies over the uncomfortable truths. To give power to the worst among them. We could never have beaten them. But now they have destroyed themselves. They have lost, and we have won! How delicious!”
— David Workman, Naperville
Trump voters holding the saw
I’ve never seen a sadder and more true cartoon as Scott Santis’ on Sunday. The saw cutting off the arm of the Statue of Liberty should be held by the more than 76 million Americans who handed the saw to Donald Trump.
— Patty Wolfe, Mount Prospect
Thoughts about Lady Liberty
I did not like Scott Stantis’ cartoon of Donald Trump cutting off Lady Liberty’s arm because she stands for something good. My grandmother came to New York in the 1800s from Yugoslavia, and the first thing she saw was Lady Liberty, but things were different then. Immigrants were processed legally to become citizens. If that didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be here.
My mom was born and had me in 1951. We respect Lady Liberty and what she stands for. The cartoon was disturbing. I’m all for Trump stopping illegal immigration the way it is today, but don’t harm our Statue of Liberty.
— Diana Short, Oakbrook
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