Linda Coberly Discusses Why Feminists Are Demanding Recognition of the ERA with Ms. Magazine

More than 50 women’s rights organizations—including the ERA Coalition, the Feminist Majority, NOW, and TIMES’ UP—filed an amicus brief recently in support of a lawsuit arguing that an arbitrary seven-year time frame imposed by Congress in 1972 should not stand in the way of the ERA’s adoption. The amicus brief describes the long history of the fight for constitutional equality and why it is particularly important in this context to respect the plain language of Article V of the U.S. Constitution, which sets out a process for amending our Constitution that imposes no time limits. The brief also describes the persistent inequality that women experience today—inequality that particularly impacts women of color, immigrant women, women with disabilities, LGBTQ people, and single mothers.

Linda Coberly, Chicago Managing Partner and Chair of the ERA Coalition’s Legal Task Force, recently discussed the significance of the Equal Rights Amendment with Ms. Magazine. In the article, she notes, “the problems of inequality remain very important today, even though a lot of progress has been made.”

“Our brief was filed on behalf of groups who have been part of the women’s movement for decades and also groups that have fought specifically for the rights of Black women, [women of color], the rights of … immigrant women, and the rights of LGBTQ people,” Linda explains. “This is an intersectional movement.”

“The ERA doesn’t put the word ‘woman’ in the constitution,” she says. “What it does is create constitutional equality. It eliminates the right of the government to treat women, or men, or nonbinary people differently based on their sex. It is for a very broad group of people.”

Read the full article here.

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