Sunday, April 20, 2025
The League of Women Voters of Central Nassau met at the Oceanside Library last Friday to view a screening of the film Ratified and discuss next steps for getting the Equal Rights Amendment certified and published.
The film “Ratified” covers the successful fight for Virginia to become the 38th state to ratify the amendment and the growing inclusivity of the movement. After the film, panelists who were featured in it or are involved in the League of Women Voters spoke to the library audience via Zoom. Co-President of the local chapter, Ann Leiter, led the meeting. One of the main operations the local chapter performs is registering voters.
“We’re going to South Side High School next week and we get to visit all the senior classes and we register the seniors,” Leiter said.
Another key action they take is to moderate in nonpartisan situations, such as campaigns for school boards or local legislation.
“That’s also a way of giving the public information about the candidates and educating them on issues,” Leiter said.
The Equal Rights Amendment is an important pursuit for women’s rights organizations. Section I defines the amendment, while Section II empowers Congress to enforce it. Section I of the amendment states, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
In 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, meeting the required three‐fourths of states set by the Constitution.
However, Congress placed a time limit on ratification that expired in the 1980s, so there is debate as to whether the amendment is now part of the Constitution. Legal scholars posit that Congress had no right to set a time limit in the first place.
“There are very strong arguments from a legal perspective on why the deadline is unconstitutional,” said Ting Ting Cheng, a civil rights attorney who was both interviewed in the film and present at the meeting.
Juli Grey-Owens, Executive Director of Gender Equality New York, also mentioned that an amendment is stronger than legislation, because legislation is much easier to overturn.
Mary Ann Gorman, head of the Maryland NOW ERA task force, spoke of the current strategy to get Congress to affirm the ERA is the 28th Amendment to the Constitution, including the members of Congress representing New York.
“In New York, Nydia Velázquez in NY-7, YvetteClark in NY-9, John Mannion in NY-22, and Joseph Morelle in NY-25 have co-sponsored the House resolution,” Gorman said. “Right now we’re focused on the Democrats, because the Republicans are such a hard push. So call them daily.”
But the League of Women Voters doesn’t limit itself to Democratic support, because that would hinder success.
“We’re not a partisan organization,” Gorman said. “We’d like to see Republicans involved in this.”
Cheng emphasized the importance of state-led initiatives and legislation that will protect women’s rights despite the state of limbo the ERA is in.
“States have their own unique constitutions,” Cheng said. “They can go far beyond what a federal amendment can achieve…There’s a lot of potential in states while the amendment is buckled…We can use the (state) ERA to push back against federal overreach.”
For Leiter, the answer to that was Prop 1, also known as the New York Equal Rights Amendment, which passed last year. It uses much more progressive language, does not change parental rights to determine children’s healthcare choices, and does not contradict the federal law requiring people to play on gender-matched sports teams. It does aim to prevent discrimination and protect people’s rights to birth control, IVF, and abortion.
Jennifer McClellan, now a member of the House of Representatives and lead co-sponsor for the House ERA resolution (formerly a Virginia state senator) interviewed in the film, says the fight for equal rights is an ever-evolving and tidal experience.
“It’s constant progress.”
