Breaking: Women's Movement Brief for the ERA

Another big step forward today in the ERA movement! The ERA Coalition, its members and supporters, filed an amicus brief in support of the suit filed by the Attorneys General of Nevada, Illinois and Virginia to compel the Archivist to publish the ERA to the Constitution.

Here is the Coalition Press Release:

The ERA Coalition Joins Women’s Movement Amicus Brief in Support of the Equal Rights Amendment with 52 Women’s and Social Justice Groups including the Feminist Majority, TIME'S UP, YWCA, NOW, Black Women's Roundtable, Voto Latino, Union Theological Seminary, and Others.

Women’s Movement Brief asks the Court to Hold that a Time Limit Cannot Stand in the way of the Equal Rights Amendment, which now meets all the Constitutional Requirements for Amending the Constitution.

(July 1, 2020) Washington, D.C. -- The battle for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) entered another phase today as 52 prominent women’s rights and social justice groups across the country filed an amicus curiae brief opposing the efforts of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to stop the Equal Rights Amendment following its ratification by Nevada, Illinois and Virginia – the final three of the thirty-eight states required for an amendment to the Constitution.

In February 2020, the Attorneys-General of Virginia, Illinois and Nevada filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel the national Archivist to certify the ERA as the 28^th Amendment to the Constitution after his refusal to do so following the last and 38^th ratification of the amendment by the state of Virginia.  The U.S. Department of Justice moved to dismiss the case, and these three states have filed an opposition brief in response to the motion to dismiss.  The ERA Coalition Women’s Movement brief supports the three states in their legal battle for recognition of the ERA as a valid constitutional amendment.

"The Women's Movement brief articulates the story of the untold millions of women who --throughout this country and for almost a century—have eagerly fought for equality. It states the case clearly: the amendment must be affixed to the Constitution,” said Kimberly Peeler-Allen, Board Chair of the ERA Coalition.

For the full press release and brief click here.

Full list of co-signers of the amicus brief: 

Alice Paul Institute (API)

American Association of University Women (AAUW)

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA)

Arizona NOW

Black Women’s Roundtable (BWR)

Dolores Huerta Foundation

Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP)

Downtown Women for Change

Equal Rights Amendment North Carolina Alliance (ERA-NC Alliance)

Equality Utah

ERA Coalition

ERA Minnesota

ERA Task Force AZ

Feminist Majority Foundation

Fund for Women’s Equality (FFWE)

Gender Justice

General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC)

Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc.

Justice Revival

League of Women Voters of the United States

Legal Momentum

Michigan Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc.

Michigan ERAmerica

Mormons for ERA

National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV)

National Association of Commissions for Women (NACW)

National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL)

National Congress of Black Women, Inc.

National Council of Jewish Women, Inc.

National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs

National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project, Inc. (NIWAP)

National Organization for Women (NOW)

National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC)

National Women’s Political Caucus Foundation

Oklahoma Women’s Coalition

Project 28 MO

Rethinking Eve LLC

Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN)

Sisters of Loretto - Loretto Community

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet Area

TIME’S UP Foundation

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York

United 4 Equality, LLC

Utah ERA Coalition

Voto Latino

Women’s Equality Coalition

Women’s Health and Reproductive Rights

Women’s Law Project (WLP)

Women Lawyers on Guard Inc. (WLG)

Women’s Media Center

YWCA USA

Our deepest appreciation to all of the organizations who stepped up for the ERA. Thank you. And a special thank you to Linda Coberly, Chair of the ERA Coalition Legal Task Force, for her terrific leadership in this brief and many others. We will keep you posted on next developments and steps.

In Solidarity,

Carol Jenkins
Co-President and CEO
ERA Coalition

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