About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 2020)
NATION The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Thursday, January 2, 2020 7A ERA set to pass in Va.; legal challenges remain BY SARAH RANKIN AND DAVID CRARY Associated Press RICHMOND — Support ers of the Equal Rights Amendment are so confi dent Virginia is on the verge of becoming the critical 38th state to ratify the gender equality measure, they are already making plans for how they will celebrate. But that jubilation could be largely symbolic. Despite broad support for the amend ment in the state, the ERA’S prospects nationally are sub stantially more complicated. The proposed 28th amend ment to the U.S. Constitution faces likely legal challenges and opposition from conser vative activists who depict the ERA as a threat to their stances on abortion and transgender rights. The passage of time is also a factor. When the measure passed Congress in 1972, law makers attached a 1977 rati fication deadline to it, then extended it to 1982. While the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives is likely to extend the dead line again, the Republican- controlled Senate may balk, increasing the chances of lit igation. Lawsuits also could be waged over an attempt by five states in the 1970s to rescind their initial support for the amendment. At least one legal chal lenge is already under way. Alabama, Louisiana and South Dakota filed a lawsuit in federal court in mid-December seeking to prevent the U.S. archi vist from accepting a new ratification. In Virginia, the ERA’S future is bright: Democrats who seized control of the state legislature in Novem ber say there is unanimous support in both their House and Senate caucuses. “It will pass,” Virginia House Speaker-elect Eileen Filler-Corn said pointedly at a recent news conference attended by cheering advo cates, some of whom have been working on the issue for decades. Virginia supporters have framed ERA ratification as a chance to rebut the state’s long history of racist and intolerant policies. In the past, Virginia “fought against desegrega tion ... fought against inter racial marriage ... fought against women’s right to vote,” said Jennifer Car- roll Foy, chief patron of the House ratification resolution who is also a member of the black caucus and one of the first women admitted to the historically all-male Virginia Military Institute. “And it is only poetic justice that now we stand on the right side of history and finally give women their full constitutional equality.” After a ratifica tion vote, Virginia is expected to submit copies of the state’s resolution to the U.S. archivist. State Attorney General Mark Herring said when that happens, he will include legal arguments in sup port of the ERA. Herring, who sup ports the proposed amendment, said his office has been preparing for a long time for potential challenges to Virgin ia’s ratification. “If we have to go to court, I won’t hesi tate,” he said. Emily Martin, general counsel for the National Women’s Law Center is uncertain what lies ahead. But she hopes that a cam paign for ERA ratification will kindle a new surge of women’s activism compara ble to the women’s marches of 2016 and the subsequent emergence of the #MeToo movement. “Mobilization around ensuring women’s equality is really important at this moment when the Trump administration is going back ward in so many ways that are harmful to women and girls,” she said, referring to President Donald Trump. Some of the ERA-related arguments surfacing now are similar to those that flared in the 1970s. Would ratifica tion mean that women, as well as men, are subject to the military draft? Would it undermine workplace laws intended to protect women? But some of the liveli est debate over the com ing months will likely deal with social issues that have evolved significantly since the ‘70s: abortion access and the rights of transgender people. While abortion has been legal nationwide since the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973, many Republican-controlled states have passed tough anti-abor tion laws in recent years and are hopeful the high court might repeal or weaken Roe. Anti-abortion activists worry that the ERA, if ratified, would be used by abortion-rights support ers to quash abor tion restrictions on grounds they specif ically discriminate against women. “That’s the whole reason ERA has been brought back,” said Anne Schlafly Cori of the conserva tive advocacy group Eagle Forum. “The proponents are con cerned about Roe being stripped away by the Supreme Court, so they’re trying to shoehorn the ERA into the Constitution.” “Any vote for the ERA is a vote for abortion,” said Cori, whose mother, Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly, spear headed a highly suc cessful opposition movement to the amendment in the 70s. Martin affirmed that abortion access is a key issue for many ERA sup porters; she said adding the amendment to the constitu tion would enable courts to rule that restrictions on abortion “perpetuate gender inequality.” The issue of transgen der rights was far from the spotlight in the 1970s, but is likely to be a divisive topic in the coming ERA debate. Some ERA opponents are trying to kindle alarm over the possibility that the amendment would be used to ensure nationwide protections for transgen der women seeking to use women-only restrooms and locker rooms. “The ERA would be used to impose the most radical consequences of the new ‘gender revolution,’ which allows men to declare them selves women and vice versa,” said Penny Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for America, another conser vative advocacy group. Among the Virginia lawmakers who will soon vote on the ERA is Danica Roem, the first openly transgender person to be elected and seated in a state legislature. “Equality for women is about equality for all women,” she said. “LGBTQ women are women. And we’re not going away.” Roem Floats, bands hit the streets for 131st annual Rose Parade MICHAEL OWEN BAKER I Associated Press Parade spectators cheer for the television cameras at the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 1. Associated Press PASADENA, Calif. — After a flyover by a B-2 stealth bomber, marching bands and floral floats took to the streets under mostly sunny California skies as the 131st Rose Parade drew hun dreds of thousands of specta tors on New Year’s Day. Among the fanciful floats was an award-winning entry from the Chinese American Heritage Foundation that marked the 75th anniver sary of the U.S. victory in World War II and honored the sacrifices of women and minorities in the military. A Curtiss P-40 Flying Tiger fighter and Sherman tank on the float were decorated in eucalyptus leaves with accents of black onion seed, white sweet rice and red ilex berries. After the bomber streaked overhead, a performance by singer Ally Brooke kicked off the colorful proceedings. The annual extravaganza on Wednesday in Pasadena featured dozens of floats decked out with count less flowers and waving celebrities. There were just a few clouds and temperatures reached the mid 60s after a chilly night. It has rained only once on the Rose Parade in the past six decades — that was in 2006 — and it has never been canceled because of weather. The theme of the 2020 parade is “The Power of Hope.” The grand mar shals are actresses Rita Moreno and Gina Tor res and Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez. A beaming Moreno waved from a rose-adorned antique car with her two adult grandsons. “Aquatic Aspirations,” a float built by students at California Polytechnic State University, featured a sub marine, Hope, festooned with red and orange lentils, white mums, silver leaf, and seaweed. Spectators started lining the 5.5-mile route on Tues day, many of them camping on sidewalks and braving overnight temperatures in the 40s. Pasadena police said there were no known threats to the parade, and spectator safety would remain the first priority and security would be tight. No major problems were reported. ASHEVILLE BILTMORE HOUSE DOWNTON ABBEY ADVENTURE For ADDITIONAL DETAILS AND TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT: Call Lori Maxim at 770-535-6323 or email lmaxim@worldsbestadventures.com TOUR INCLUDES MANY WALKING EVENTS *Must be 21 years of age to participate in the tour. Alcoholic drinks extra except as noted. 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