VA Del. Mark Cole freezes women's opportunity for economic security

RICHMOND, Va. - Feb. 19, 2014 - PRLog -- Just last week we learned that the new woman CEO of General Motors was earning half the salary of her male predecessors; discrimination on the basis of sex is still going strong in the United States even at the highest corporate levels. On February 4^th Virginia Democratic and Republican Senators voted to ratify the stalled Federal Equal Rights Amendment bringing us one step closer to permanently ending discrimination on the basis of sex. However, Del Mark Cole is refusing to docket the Bill in the House even though the bill passed the Senate with bipartisan support and enjoys bipartisan support in the House.

Del. Cole, who is not an attorney, says that SJ 78 is not a legal bill. Many of the Senators who co-patroned and ultimately voted for the bill are attorneys. The United States Congress has sole discretion for Constitutional ratification deadlines; they may impose, extend or remove them at their discretion. Currently legislation is moving through both chambers of Congress to remove the deadline and add the three additional states required for full ratification.

Delegate Cole claims that he supports equality for women, yet refuses to allow even a committee hearing on the ERA bill. The grassroots group Women Matter Use Your Power has given Del. Cole every conceivable opportunity to bring the bill forward in committee. Co-founder Eileen Davis has personally delivered copies of the Congressional Review Study to his office explaining that this is the work of Constitutional scholars.  In describing the bill she explains “What’s critical about this bill is that it’s a civil rights bill; this isn’t about body parts. Frankly this is a bipartisan dream bill.” Democratic and Republican members of the Virginia Senate agreed.

These are hard economic times and for those lucky enough to earn a paycheck, every dollar is important. Without the Equal Rights Amendment laws like Lily Ledbetter and the Pay Equity Act have no teeth. There is nothing in the United States Constitution that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex so these piecemeal laws have no judicial standing. For any person who believes that women have all the rights they need, look no further than General Motors and their treatment of their new female CEO. It doesn’t matter how high you rise in an organization, if you are a woman your salary is automatically discounted.

We still need the ERA. Currently, federal and state laws do not and cannot fully protect equal rights for women and girls--and in some cases men and boys--under the law. This is because discrimination on account of sex is not barred by the Constitution. Antonin Scalia, Betty Ford, Patricia Ireland, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter have all asserted that the ERA is necessary for constitutional protection of equal rights for all.

The Equal Rights Amendment would provide a path to reliable economic security for both women and men by guaranteeing that equal pay for equal work is enshrined in the United States Constitution. We need the Equal Rights Amendment to lift women and families out of poverty and promote household stability. This is a civil rights issue!

On Friday, February 21st Women Matter Use Your Power will join with women from all over the Commonwealth of Virginia as they stand in silent sentinel at the General Asembly starting at 9:00 am.


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