WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., presided over the U.S. House of Representatives as Speaker Pro Tempore for the historic vote on the Equal Rights Amendment on Thursday. The …
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., presided over the U.S. House of Representatives as Speaker Pro Tempore for the historic vote on the Equal Rights Amendment on Thursday. The vote on the passage of H.J. Res. 79 passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 232 to 183. Rep. Blunt Rochester voted in favor of the measure.
“It was truly an honor to serve as Speaker Pro Tempore and preside over the House during this historic vote,” said Rep. Blunt Rochester. “This vote was about a simple proposition – that all individuals, no matter their sex, are equal under the law. Today, the House of Representatives made clear that equality has no deadline.”
The ERA was first proposed in 1923 just a few years after women gained the right to vote. It was also an amendment in the Republican Party’s presidential platform as early as 1940 and was supported by both Democrats and Republicans under Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford.
The Equal Rights Amendment simply states: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.” It would finally affirm women’s equality in our Constitution – enshrining the principle of women’s equality and an explicit prohibition against sex discrimination in the nation’s foundational document.