Happy New Year! 2019 is going to be the year that the Equal Rights Amendment is finally enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and EQUAL MEANS EQUAL plans to invite you to celebrate with us every step of the way!
First up: VIRGINIA - January 2019
January 8th EQUAL MEANS EQUAL is heading back to Virginia to host a VIP Reception for legislators the day before their General Assembly begins. After the reception, legislators and supporters will head to the Byrd Theatre for a screening of the great documentary, RGB! This fun evening should put them in the right frame of mind to start the session with the ERA front and center. Our goal is to get ERA voted on and passed by mid-January :)
If you will be in Richmond and would like to come, please send us an email RSVP right away - guest list is extremely limited: RSVP@equalmeansequal.com
This year we are not taking anything but “hell, yes!” for an answer and plan put increasing pressure on these guys (we’re looking at YOU, VA House Speaker Kirk Cox!) every week until they hold a full committee hearing on the ERA and put it up for a vote!
According to Kati Hornung of VARatifyERA, the Virginia Senate appears poised to approve the resolution in 2019. They are awaiting confirmation this week when Senator Sturtevant submits his resolution and they see which committee is assigned the resolution (Senator Jill Vogel in the Senate Privileges & Elections Committee always makes sure the ERA gets to the floor).
She says the key focus will likely be on pressuring the most powerful people in the Virginia House of Delegates where the ERA has not gotten out of committee in decades. We look forward to creative participation from all of EQUAL MEANS EQUAL’s on-the-ground equality warriors in this exciting and urgent task.
Here is an important excerpt from their website, shared here with permission:
“Priority 1/Path to the Floor
Virginia House of Delegates
Delegate M. Kirkland “Kirk” Cox, Speaker of the House
Background: Speaker Cox sets the course for an Equal Rights Amendment ratification in 2019 depending upon which committee he selects to consider the issue. The House Privileges and Election committee, chaired by Delegate Mark Cole, has never docketed the Equal Rights Amendment. Speaker Cox, on the other hand, is the chair of the Rules Committee and could single-handedly (without a committee vote) put the Equal Rights Amendment straight to the House floor for a vote.
The ask: Speaker Cox, please ensure the Equal Rights Amendment gets a vote on the full House floor.
Extra credit: Review Speaker Cox’s top donors and if you know someone who could be influential to Speaker Cox please reach out and encourage him/her to become an equality champion.
Delegate Todd Gilbert, House Majority Leader
Background: Delegate Gilbert, as the House Majority Leader, will be very involved in the Republican caucus decision as to whether or not they allow the Equal Rights Amendment to get a full vote on the House floor. The Republicans in the House of Delegates are generally in lock step with important issues and it is expected their caucus will make this decision together.
The ask: Delegate Gilbert, please ensure the Equal Rights Amendment gets a vote on the full House floor.
Extra credit: Review Delegate Gilbert’s top donors and if you know someone who could be influential to Delegate Gilbert, please reach out and encourage him/her to become an equality champion.”
Please keep us posted when and how you follow up on this information; send us suggestions, leads to supportive celebrities and ideas for other media-friendly headline-grabbing actions we can do NOW.
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