Letter: Amendment would ensure equal rights for women

From:  The New Orleans Advocate

COMMENT - And Amen to that!

by  Hailey Auglair
student, New Orleans

In the 21st century, it is appalling that this country still does not provide equal rights for women. Over the years, women have proved themselves more than capable of living a life of equality with men. Why does it seem that the many feats that women in this country have overcome become overlooked when the discussion of equal rights comes up? Do the names Rosa Parks, Nellie Bly, Amelia Earhart, Maya Angelou and Susan B. Anthony not say enough by themselves?

The famous argument proposed by Phyllis Schlafly, an Equal Rights Amendment opponent that “ERA would take away women’s traditional exemption from military conscription and also from military combat duty,” can easily be countered. Alice Paul Institute retaliates that the opposers’ arguments are unsound: “In fact, the lack of an ERA in the Constitution does not protect women against involuntary military service. Congress already has the power to draft women as well as men, and the Senate debated the possibility of drafting nurses in preparation for a possible invasion of Japan in World War II.”

If this is the soundest argument given by ERA opposers, a fear that already has the ability to become true, then why is there even a fight? It is necessary for the ERA to be passed to ensure the equality and protection of all citizens, not just men.  MORE