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Show Feb. 15, 1977 Signpost EQUAL RIGHTS THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT "SECTION 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. " "SECTION 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article." "SECTION 3. This Amendment shall take effect two years after the date ot ratification." . . Q Congress passed the equal rights amendment on March 22, 1972. Ratification oy J states is needed to make it law. by LeeAnn Williams America has been considered a land of melting pots. The various nationalities that migrated here brought with them many values and cultural roles . We, as a product of our ancestors, are also a diverse people. Each of us has our own values and our own philosophy. Even two persons who would agree on a philosophical concept that they believe should be implemented in society, may disagree on the EXTENT to which it should be implemented. This is precisely what proponents of the ERA should realize. Different women draw the line of equality in different places. There are radicals on both sides who differ as to the extent to which equality should be implemented. It is here that there are arguments about community toilets and women being eligible for the draft. The ERA does not make clear where the line is drawn. It is too ambiguous in that the specific provisions are not clearly defined. If we support and pass the ERA, we don't know what we are getting. And after the ERA is passed as a law, the interpretation of it would go to the courts. We would have no say in matters which would directly affect and influence our lives and the lives of our families. If we did not like it, the only recourse would be to repeal or change the amendment. It is dangerous and foolish to put such power in the hands of the courts. Ours is a country where individualism has been emphasized, yet the majority has always ruled. It is important that even in the specifics of this law that women should have input into the final decisions. What the majority of them want should be by our heritage, law. The amendment could have an overriding effect on the state laws. It is through the state laws that women can have more influence in implementing those things that the majority of them are concerned about. In that way, we will have a direct say in those individual matters that directly affect and influence our lives and the lives of our families. We will be able to determine what we deem to be the proper extend. This approach would be more adaptable to the varying lifestyles of different areas of the country. Ours is a country where individualism has been stressed, yet majority rule has been emphasized. If we remain true to this basic principle, women's needs should be met through the state's laws. It is our heritage. Insofar as it is legally possible, I want to make my own decision about the draft and community toilets. This can be done more effectively on a local and state level. I don't like buying something sight unseen just because I don't know what I'm getting. Neither will I buy if I don't know what I'm getting. If the amendment passes, women will have to pay the price. As it is written, I am not willing to take that gam- . ble. By Mary Woodhead The equal rights amendment is made up of three sentences each of which is both simple and precise. Section one very succintly covers the all encompassing problem of sexual discrimination under the law. Nevertheless it has become the vogue this past year to be critical of the ERA on the gounds that it is ambiguous. Fortunately, that's not the case. Along with being precise, the ERA is all-encompassing. The amendment doesn't cite specific laws, nor does it allow the state legislatures the leeway to interpret the amendment as they wish. If the ERA were not all-encompassing, it wouldn't be worth much. It would allow each state to give women which ever rights under the law seemed right at the moment. Proponents of law by law; state by state change seem to forget that local control means local discretion and if one state legislature decides to keep discriminatory laws which are not covered in some federal statute it may do so. While the ERA does not mean unisex toilets or the destruction of the family, it does mean that women will be subject to draft laws. No one wants to be drafted, but there isn't a reason in the world why female citizens should not bear the same burden males have been saddled with for years. In 1972 the state of Washington added an ERA to its state constitution. Former Governor Daniel Evans of that state noted, several years after the ERA had taken effect that "I am aware of no classification of privileges which the woman has lost" as a result of Washington's equal rights amendment. He added "a woman has not lost her right to be supported by her husband; she never had that right." He noted that the question of support was a matter of custom which had not been forceably changed by the state ERA. What the state laws have done in Washington and all the other states that have approved equal rights legislation is strike down those laws which prohibited women (and men) from participating fully in those activities generally regulated by law . ERA opponents are likely to interject at this point that since all these states have functioned so well with state legislation that there is no need for a national amendment.The problem with leaving it to the states is that some state legislatures are going to decide that women don't need equal rights, or that they shouldn't be saddled with equal responsibilities. Those states will continue to write and enforce laws which discriminate against both men and women. By crossing the border from Colorado to Utah, a woman or man could lose their right to be full participants in the political and economic process of the United States. The ERA is more than just a law, it represents the American commitment to equality under the law for all Americans, and until it becomes a permanent part of the U.S. Constitution, the American dream will be left unfulfilled for over half of the U.S. population. |