New drive afoot to pass Equal Rights Amendment

You can read the Washington Post article here.

Probably the funniest (and saddest) part of the article are these three paragraphs:

Although more states are considering ratifying the ERA now than at any other time in the past 25 years, activists still face serious hurdles. Every statewide officeholder in Arkansas endorsed the amendment this year, but the bill stalled in committee last week after Eagle Forum President Phyllis Schlafly came to Little Rock to testify against the measure.

In the 1970s, Schlafly and others argued that the ERA would lead to women being drafted by the military and to public unisex bathrooms. Today, she warns lawmakers that its passage would compel courts to approve same-sex marriages and deny Social Security benefits for housewives and widows.

"It's very retro. It had 10 years of debate, very passionate debate for 10 years, and it was defeated," Schlafly said in an interview yesterday. "Anytime you get a fair forum where both sides are heard, we win."

That's just wacky. In any event, I think the ERA should be passed, and have thought so ever since the 8th grade, when, on a class trip to DC, I happened into the NOW offices and a sweet little old lady (not the image I've ever had of a feminist -- either of a bloomers-sporting one or a bra-burning one) told me about the ERA and its failure to pass. Up until that point, I had never given the issue much thought, but assumed (as most of Arkansas state rep Lindsley Smith's constituents do -- see page 2 of the article) that the issue had already been taken care of. Well, it hasn't, so it's time we did something about it, people! Because I don't want to be making 15-20% less than my male counterparts once I actually figure out what specialty I want to go into and finish my training. $150,000 is all well and good, but all else being equal, wouldn't $180,000 be better? :)