As a Candidate for House District 48, I want to let voters know my position on the Equal Rights Amendment.
“Equal rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
When our Founding Fathers drafted the wording for the United States Constitution, they first established a republic based on a democratic form of government. Then they created the first ten amendments — the ones we refer to as the Bill of Rights — to protect us from that government.
In the late 1700s, women were a class protected by their fathers, brothers, and husbands. The social order of that era did not envision women as CEOs of Fortune 100 companies, astronauts, or even working moms. Under the original Constitution, women were not granted the right to vote. Today, women play a major role at all levels of our federal, state, and local governments.
Numerous federal, state, and local laws have been passed addressing equality issues involving gender. At the federal level we have Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Equal Pay Act of 1963, and The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. …And, yet, inequities still exist.
According to recent polls, most Americans think that ERA has been ratified and that equal rights for women is already included in our Constitution. In Florida, all 67 County Commissions have expressed support through their County Commissioners’ Association. In the legislature, the measure has been co-sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats on a bi-partisan basis. Unfortunately, Republican leadership did not support this measure.
Only three states are needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment for adoption in the United States Constitution. I strongly believe that Florida must be one of them! As the only son growing up in a single parent household with my mother and five sisters, I feel very strongly about guaranteeing the rights of women and support the ERA.
