38 States Ratified ERA, Now What (2020)?

The ERA billboards that were posted around North Carolina last year are still true – 4.2 million women live in North Carolina. Zero have equal rights.

Counting girls as well as women, the statement becomes “5.2 million women and girls live in NC. Zero have equal rights.”

Thanks to women in Virginia, 38 of 38 states needed have ratified the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as of January 2020, and there have been developments on a few fronts. Here is a review and an update on what is happening now. For more about why we need ERA, see Simple Justice, Long Overdue.

Billboard Unveiling to Launch Women’s Equal Rights Campaign – 8/22/19

ERA Billboard Unveiling to Launch Women’s Equal Rights Campaign. This push in advance of Constitution Day (9/17/19) underscores the need for Equal Rights Amendment. “We are very excited about the new billboards,” said Gailya Paliga, president of NC NOW. “We hope they spark interest in the ERA as a fundamental legal remedy against sex discrimination for women and men.”

Great Turnout At Lame Duck Special Session & Related Events on 11/27/18

Turnout was great at the events surrounding the lame duck special session called by the NC Legislature months ago in anticipation of being able to implement some or all of the constitutional amendments they created. Many organizations worked together to expose what they are doing with a press conference on 11/27/18, at 10:45am, and then moving people into the galleries of the NC House and NC Senate. The NC House and Senate sessions were supposed to begin at noon. After the later session, many people gathered in between the two galleries, where Rev. Dr. Spearman of the NAACP spoke, and then we sang together. Some people helped put up tents outside on Halifax Mall and got a chance to eat before a press conference at 1:45 pm to expose the continued terrible conditions some of the Hurricane Florence survivors still face. As Rev. Barber said during the first press conference, the only thing the special session should address is Hurricane Florence recovery. Here are some pictures and descriptions of the day. Also see the video and article at the News and Observer here.

All of the NC House gallery seats are full, and latecomers are forced to stand. First day of lame duck special session, 11/27/18. Photo Credit: Gailya Paliga

Meanwhile, the new voter ID bill is moving fast through Legislature.

Resistance Plans for Lame Duck Legislative Session beginning 11/27/18

The NC Legislature called this special session months ago in anticipation of being able to implement some or all of the constitutional amendments. Many organizations are working together to expose what they are doing. Events are planned in and around the Legislative Building at 16 W. Jones St on Tuesday, Nov 27, 2018. Please come to some or all if you can, or just come to witness the legislature’s actions, and make sure they know we care and are watching.

August 2018 protest of constitutional amendments and yet another special session at Legislative Building in Raleigh.

 

What’s Next With Constitutional Amendments in NC (2018)?

Four of the six constitutional amendments passed in the 2018 midterm elections in North Carolina (11/6/18). Thank goodness, the two explicit power-grabbing amendments failed. As you may remember, NC NOW could not endorse any of the amendments since they were basically blank checks for the legislature to implement whatever they want, and also because they were passed with no public input or expert testimony. We had a statement to this effect on our endorsement flier, also found here at the bottom of the yellow page. 

The NC legislature convenes a special session on Tuesday, Nov 27, 2018, to implement the constitutional amendments like voter id in the last few weeks of the Republican supermajority.

As NC Policy Watch wrote in “NC voters pass 4 constitutional amendments; lame-duck session looming,” 11/7/18, NC Policy Watch,

“North Carolina voters wrote four blank checks [on 11/6/18] to GOP lawmakers who already said they plan to hold a lame-duck legislative session to implement constitutional amendments.”

Photo Credit: Jacalyn Engler

These are some things we can do to try to block some of the damage.

Beware of Ballot Falloff/Ballot Fatigue—Important Choices at End!

The farther down the ballot an office is, the fewer the number of votes that will be cast for it. This is called “ballot fatigue. NC’s 2018 general election, the ballot is 2 pages long (the ones I have seen, anyway). It is common for people who go to the polls not to vote for every contested position or proposed initiative. The difference between how many people go to the polls and how many actually vote on a specific issue or candidate is called voter falloff. For example, if a million voters cast ballots for president, but only 200,000 are cast for supreme court justice, then the falloff is 800,000 or 80%. The level of falloff varies from race to race and issue to issue.

Random Sample Ballot from the 2018 general election. See how Judicial Offices are at the end of the partisan offices. Photo Credit: Gailya Paliga

Kirkendale: Re-energized to Persist at the 2018 NC NOW Conference

“Ladies all across the world
Listen up, we’re looking for recruits
If you with me, lemme see your hands
Stand up and salute
Get your killer heels, sneakers, pumps or lace up your boots
Representing all the women, salute, salute.”

“Salute” by Little Mix

Audrey Muck aptly chose this song as accompaniment to her update on the ERA, inspiring us to dance in and out of our seats – much needed during the 2pm time slot! The Women Rising Up NOW! 2018 State Conference couldn’t have come at a better time for me personally: deeply discouraged by the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, following two back to back trips to Washington DC to join the “angry mob” of dedicated women, survivors and allies from across the country in bird-dogging, direct actions, and speak-outs at the U.S. Senate and at the Supreme Court, I missed the company of kindred spirits acutely.

Photo Credit: Jenn Alexander

Media Advisory: Women Rising Up NOW: NC NOW State Conference October 20, 2018

October 10, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Gailya Paliga, President, NC National Organization for Women, president@raleighnow.org, www.northcarolinanow.org

Lori Bunton, NC NOW VP of Membership, lbunton53@gmail.com

WOMEN RISING UP NOW: NC NOW STATE CONFERENCE ON OCTOBER 20, 2018

Raleigh, NC, 10/10/18 – North Carolina National Organization for Women (NOW) will hold its annual conference on October 20 from 9 am to 4 pm at NC Advocates for Justice building in Raleigh. We are proud to announce our keynote speaker is civil rights attorney Anita Earls. This year’s conference theme is ‘Women Rising Up NOW!’

Never has the need been greater than in 2018 for women to push back and move forward. Decades of progress towards women’s equality is being turned back by the current administrations in Washington, D.C., and in North Carolina. “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty,” Thomas Jefferson said so long ago.

Women Rising Up NOW! In Raleigh on 10/20/18

We have record numbers of women running for office in 2018 because women are rising up! We have women organizing regular protests around the state – NC has weekly protests in Raleigh and Wilmington! Mostly women are protesting at the Kavanaugh hearings and around the state and country. Because Women are Rising Up NOW! 

Please join us at our NC NOW State conference to meet some of these women in NC and learn some skills to help you rise up as well! Register for the conference online here. Register by mail using NC NOW News Fall 2018 Registration Page (v2) (print and mail).

We are honored to announce that our keynote speaker is Civil Rights attorney, Anita Earls.

Civil Rights Attorney Anita Earls at Women’s Rally On Raleigh, 1/20/18. Photo Credit: Yevonne Brannon

Tell Your NC Representatives To Let Vetoes Stand

Write your representatives and the NCGA leaders and tell them NOT to override Governor Cooper’s vetoes. Read more about the situation with the #NCGA interference in the constitutional amendment captions and the NC Supreme Court election at “Tell the NCGA to stop their dirty tricks. #NixAllSix! 8/4/18.” See how to contact them and get an idea of what you could say here.

#NixAllSix and #SHAME signs – the right size for the galleries. Photo Credit: Arsidez Leon

Here is a polite version of a letter to use verbatim or as an example. Also see here where to look up your current state representatives too (not the ones in the November election).  You are welcome to edit and use your own words. If you write them, it is likely their office will respond. If you call, less so.