Assembly Resolution No. 155
BY: M. of A. Seawright
CALLING for ratification of the Equal Rights
Amendment
WHEREAS, The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly guarantee equal
rights to all persons regardless of sex; and
WHEREAS, The 19th Amendment, adopted in 1920, grants all citizens
the right to vote without abridgment or denial on account of sex; and
WHEREAS, The proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the
Constitution affirms that "Equality of rights under the law shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of
sex"; and
WHEREAS, The ERA was written by suffragist leader Alice Paul and
introduced in Congress in 1923, was passed by Congress in 1972 with a
seven-year time limit, and after Congressional extension of the time
limit to June 30, 1982, has been ratified by 35 of the 38 states
necessary to put it into the Constitution; and
WHEREAS, Article V of the Constitution imposes no time limit for
ratification of amendments; Supreme Court decisions have recognized the
power of Congress to determine the mode of ratification; and the 1992
ratification of the 27th ("Madison") Amendment 203 years after it was
first proposed supports the premise that state ERA ratification votes
since 1972 are sufficiently contemporaneous; and
WHEREAS, On March 20, 2017, the State of Nevada voted to ratify the
Equal Rights Amendment, leaving only two more states needed for
ratification; and
WHEREAS, On May 30, 2018, the State of Illinois voted to ratify the
Equal Rights Amendment, leaving only one more state needed for
ratification; and
WHEREAS, On January 15, 2020, the State of Virginia voted to ratify
the Equal Rights Amendment; and
WHEREAS, On March 17, 2021, the U.S House of Representatives passed
HJ Res 17 to remove the deadline for the ratification of the Equal
Rights Amendment; and
WHEREAS, A leader in advocating for women's equality, New York State
has championed paid family leave, equal pay for equal work, and issues
that face pregnant women in the workforce; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
call on all members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in
the 117th Congress to co-sponsor, support, and pass into law joint
resolutions for both the traditional Article V ratification process
(H.J. Res. 28); and be it further
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause further to affirm our
strong support of the Equal Rights Amendment and our commitment to put
the ERA into the Constitution; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the President of the Senate of the United States, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each member of the
Congress of the United States from the State of New York.
