A move to make Arkansas the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment died in a legislative committee Thursday.
Dozens of women and men dressed all in white jumped to their feet in a standing ovation as Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, entered the Old Supreme Court room at the state Capitol just before the start of the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs. During the suffrage movement -- when women were granted the right to vote in 1920 -- marchers often wore white.
Elliott testified before the committee about her effort to seek legislative approval of Senate Joint Resolution 18. Afterward, she said she was left "heartbroken" when the resolution died for lack of a second on a motion to advance the measure to the full Senate. A joint resolution requires approval in both chambers.
"One thing you have to remember is, elections always do have consequences and this is one more," Elliott told a crowd that gathered afterward. "But the other thing I still don't understand -- I don't care if you're a Democrat or Republican -- how it is you think 51 percent of the country should not be enshrined in our Constitution? It is easy to be discouraged, but I have had a lot of experience of being discouraged but not giving out or giving up."
The Equal Rights Amendment -- the current version approved by Congress in 1972 to guarantee equal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex -- must be ratified by 38 states before it can be added to the U.S. Constitution. Thirty-seven states ratified the measure, but there is debate on what the total is and whether a deadline has passed.
The Equal Rights Amendment, originally introduced in Congress in 1921, seeks to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment and other matters.
Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, who co-sponsored the resolution, said after the meeting that she was disappointed in the committee.
"It breaks my heart. It just means we've got to re-energize ourselves and make sure people are elected who care about women and are willing to give us equal rights under the law," Chesterfield said. "Keep fighting. You can't ever give up. You can't ever give up."
Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado, told Elliott that her assertion that Arkansas would be the 38th state to ratify the amendment was a "highly contentious and incorrect statement."
Garner referred to the 1982 ratification deadline and the five states -- South Dakota, Tennessee, Nebraska, Idaho and Kentucky -- that voted to revoke their ratifications.
Elliott countered that the states had no legal rights to revoke a ratification of a constitutional amendment, a legal argument that is often debated.
Garner and Sen. Breanne Davis, R-Russellville, said adopting the amendment would open the door to mandated abortions, lowering the age of consent to 12 years old, eliminating alimony and child support, and causing mixed-gender prisons.
Politics on 03/08/2019