Many may have never heard about an
Equal Rights Amendment or movement unless it had to deal with segregation and
involved Dr. Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks; who were the main advocates for
equality among races. However, it dates back further to an actual amendment
brought about by Alice Paul. This amendment was known as the Equal Rights Amendment
(ERA). The Equal Rights Amendment was introduced after the Nineteenth Amendment
was ratified which gave women the right to vote. The ERA as I mentioned
previously was originally written by Alice Paul in 1923. The Equal Rights
Amendment was designed to guarantee equal rights for women. Although the Equal
Rights Amendment passed both houses of Congress (House and Senate) and went to
the state legislators for ratification this act still failed to be passed into
action. The ERA failed to be put into action because it failed to meet the 38 ratifications
before the deadline of June 30, 1982 set forth by Congress[1].
However as usual there is more to this story than what meets the eye.
In 2012 there was a vote to ban same
sex marriages. Of course we know what the result was from this vote which is
that same sex will continue to be banned. Supporters of this ban out voted their
opponents by 61%-39%. The main reasoning the people who voted to ban same-sex
marriage is because they wanted to uphold God’s design of the constitution that
states “marriage is between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal
union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.” [2]
There was also much worry about the state’s image and how it would change
perspectives when it came to divorce and child custody cases. This may all be
true but the Constitution was intended to be for the people not against the
people. The point I am trying to make is that equality among all is not a bad
decision but society, the media, and our fellow government has portrayed it as
just that.
[2]
CNN Wire Staff, "North Carolina
Passes Same-Sex Marriage Ban." Last modified May 11, 2012. Accessed
January 25, 2014.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/08/politics/north-carolina-marriage/.
“Are you a feminist?” [3] it
just so happens that feminism played a part in this situation when it came to
people who were for the amendment and those who opposed the amendment. When
asked the question in class “what was feminism?” many did not know the truth but
most knew the stereotypical meaning that is showed in the media; which is the
extremists who burn bras and believe that women should rule the world. The true
meaning is equality for all races, gender, sexes etc. Feminists believe in
equality among men and women, and that’s exactly what this document would have
brought about. With this being said
during this time there were many feminists who were of the majority that
approved of this document being passed into action but then all of sudden there
came a determined opposition that suggested that if this amendment was to be
ratified it would lead to the complete unraveling of traditional American
society. [4] This
tells it here really why this amendment truly failed; our country is scared of
change and believes that if we stray away from tradition that things will
automatically become corrupt; but this is not true because the present day is
an example of it.
Today there are more women becoming
CEOs of major companies; and gay and lesbian couples are becoming more accepted
in society and same-sex marriage is now legal in 17 states. Equality is coming
and we as people and as a country just have to prepare for it.
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