Hundreds of Activists Rallied for the ERA This Weekend

[niyad]

Hundreds of Activists Rallied for the ERA This Weekend

Hundreds of Equal Rights Amendment supporters converged on the West Lawn of the Capitol Saturday to renew the fight for full equality for women in the US Constitution.

Veterans and military sexual assault survivors kicked off the ceremony with an emotional reading of fallen female soldiers from the Vietnam War until now.

"It never rains on the spirit of equal justice!" Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal, the keynote speaker, told the crowd. Smeal took the stage to loud cheers and chants: "Ellie! Ellie! Ellie! Ellie!" Scores of "ERA umbrellas" dotted the lawn, at times shielding the crowd from heavy midday rain. The symbol fittingly underscored the idea that existing anti sex discrimination laws still need the umbrella protection of the ERA to insure their survival.

"We are determined to have equality," said Smeal. "The present laws simply aren't adequate." Smeal pointed to the courts' tug of war with women over a host of issues like abortion, comprehensive reproductive health care access, equal pay, and violence against women.
Minnesota State Senator and Senate President Sandra Pappas also called for the end of nickel and dime fighting for women's rights. "We wouldn't have to, if we had the umbrella," she paused, waving her own raspberry painted umbrella, "of the ERA."

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http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=15203