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Show The Independent M -- drfrfr Tfr & it DedicatedTo The Constitution, Liberty, Morality, and r 'ir'trir'trir'ir'irirtririr-ifT'tT'iT'tr'iT'iT'irr'ir'ir'i- Vol. 11, No. 2 Truth A- -- AriHHHlrtHfc- A-fr January 23, 1980 35C Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 -- SEE PAGE 2 I BT CLEON SKOUSEN nearly fifty years the Equal Rights Amendment, lay in Congress without even so much as a committee hearing. Suddenly, in 1972, it was forced out of committee and went through the Congress like greased lightning. The Senate was the last to pass the ERA and did so on March 22, 1972, with an overwhelming majority of 84 to 8. It was then sent to the State legislatures for approval and, being a Constitutional amendment, it required ratification by at least 38 States. At first it looked as though the States would ratify the ERA within twelve months. Pat Keefer, one of the sponsors from For Common Cause, confidently predicted it, and Newsweek published it. Six States rushed into session trying to be the first to ratify ERA and all. six of them had ratified within 48 hours. Other States followed in rapid succession until 30 had first twelve months of the ratification ratified within campaign. te ' Then something happened. UTAH INDEPENDENT 57 E. Oakland Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 SECOND CLASS POSTAGE The Drive for ERA Hits a Snag During its initial launching, the ERA had been promoted as a constitutional guarantee of "equal rights for women," and, as one Congressman put it, "Who wants to be against equal rights for women?" But. after the novelty of it all wore away, the public began to realize that "women" were not even mentioned in the Equal Rights Amendment. What was worse, some sharp female lawyers like Phyllis Schlafly of Illinois, commenced an study of the Constitutional impact of ERA and promptly sounded a for alert that ERA was a booby-tra- p American women. This began to have its effect so that all across America the massive drive for the ratifying of the ERA slowed to a snail's pace. Money and pressure poured out of Washington to assist the federally financed Women's Commissions in each of the States to drive hard for ratification, but during the following six years only five more states could be induced to give their approval. These latest additions brought the tally up to 35 States, but this was still 3 short of the number required for ratification. Meanwhile, several of the States began to rescind their previous approval of ERA. in-dep- th four-alar- m PAID AT Salt Lake City, Utah What Went Wrong? In desperation, ERA supporters began to push for State Equal, Rights legislation in order to keep the issue alive. This drive was dealt a deadly blow when two of the most liberal CLEON SKOUSEN States in the East, New York and New Jersey, both turned thumbs down on State ERA programs. The Washington Star interviewed Phyllis Schlafly and asked: "What do you make of the recent setbacks of the Equal Rights Amendment and the defeat of the state equal rights amendments in New York and New Jersey?" Continued on .o 00 TRIBUNE H 3 -i n T rSi 8 3 o r- Page FALSELY ACCUSES SALTER PAGE 11 j: n HmH . o y s ui M d til fcS - ns r. O --3 , d n J -- - i 1 2 WEEKS IN SEE PAGE 6 - 0 t HOME C- r- -4 -- HOSTAGES - r : J fti i 1 1 illt' . M I II t. 4.I t .1 ' I ( I ' t H ft, M I i I t I I t . .A f r - |