VCHS
Mrs. Ray
American Studies
Snow pay #8
"Equal Rights Amendment"
Objective:
Explain the arguments for and against the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.
o
Directions:
1.
2.
3.
Read the background and the two articles attached (45-46).
Answer the questions that follow (47-48).
Be prepared to discuss both sides of the issue in class.
Background
In 1868, the 14th amendment was ratified. It forbids state govemments to deny to "any person" the
equal protection of the law. However, the Supreme Court repeatedly refused to strike down state laws
that discriminated against women. In 1923 and each year thereafter, a constitutional amendment was
introduced in Congress to forbid states to deny equal rights under the law on account of sex. ln 1971,
the House and Senate finally passed the ERA by 213 majorities. The proposed amendment was then
sent to the states for ratification. If 3/4 (38) of the states ratified, it would be approved.
Ratify the ERA
By "George Steinmetz"
admitted in the Reed vs. Reed (1971) case, that
the 14th Amendmentdoes apply to women. But,
in the same decision, the Court stated that the
14th Amendment protects women from
discrimination in only a few, extreme cases.
The ERA passed the House by a vote of 354-23
and the Senate by a vote of 84-8! I am surprised
there is any debate about whether to ratifli it'
The l4th Amendment was ratified in 1868 and
was supposed to ensure equality to "all persons'"
Unfortunately, for the next 100 years, the
Supreme Court concluded that the Amendment
only applied to men. The Court refused to strike
down laws that discriminated against women'
example, when deciding on the
constitutionality of a law that treats people
differently because of their race, the Court
For
requires the law to be "necessary to achieving a
compelling goal." But, in the Reed case the
Court said that when deciding on the
constitutionality of a law that treats people
differently because of their sex, the law must
simply be "rationally related to a legitimate
goal." Since this standard is so easy to meet, the
Reed decision will not reduce sex discrimination.
Today, there are laws setting higher minimum
wages for men, excluding pregnant women from
disability benefits, forbidding women from
working in specific jobs, requiring women to
earn more than men to receive social security
benefits, and excluding women from the military
academies. This discrimination must end.
ERA opponents fear that women r.vill be drafted
and sent into combat. Well, women should be
drafted and should be able to defend their nation
in combat. We are now losing a war in Vietnam
against an enemy that encourages women to
fight.
But, the ERA will also benefit men. For
example, many criminal sentences are more
severe for men, domestic violence laws are rarely
enforced against women, men can be drafted into
military service but women cannot, and child
custody decisions are biased toward women. It is
time for this discrimination to end, too.
Some people claim that the
The ERA rvill simply require the government to
show that any laws that treat men and lvomen
differently are necessary to achieve a compelling
goal. Separate public bathrooms and prison cells
would clearly pass that test. Laws that do not
pass that test have no place in the land of
equality.
Civil Rights Act of
i964 will end sex discrimination. But that law
does not apply to government or small business.
ERA opponents also claim that discrimination
will end because the Supreme Court finally
45
Reject the ERA
By "Florence Schaefer"
achieve a compelling goal. For example, it could
be argued that separate public restrooms for men
The 14th Amendment forbids the government to
deny "any person" the equal protection of the
law. Unfortunately, for more than 100 years the
Supreme Court did not apply the Amendment's
protections to women.
and women are not necessary to achieve a
compelling goal. The same could be said for
separate dormitories and showers for men and
women who attend state colleges, or even
separate prisons and prison cells for men and
Despite that problem, President Kennedy's
women.
Commission on the Status of Women concluded
that an ERA was rmnecessary. And, justto make
sure, the federal government passed several laws
to ensure women were treated equally.
It could be argued that laws that forbid
topless
bathing on public beaches and laws that require
businesses to provide maternity benefits to
women are not necessary to achieve compelling
goals. The ERA would make all those laws
unconstitutional, even though they are popular
and beneficial to society.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires businesses to
pay men and women equally for equal work.
And, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits sex
discrimination in employment altogether.
But, these laws will be okay if the Court can use
the rationally related to a legitimate goal test that
was established in the Reed case.
Then came the revolutionary Reed vs. Reed
(1971) Supreme Court decision. The Court
struck down an Idaho law that gave preference to
men to administer estates. For the first time the
Court agreed that the 14th Amendment protected
women from government discrimination.
The ERA has other bad effects. For example, it
will lead to the drafting of women for military
service. There could be no exceptions for
women with small children, despite numerous
studies that show the importance to a child of
having a mother at home.
It is true that the Court's test for laws that treat
men and women differently is not as strict as the
test for laws that treat people of different races
differently. But this makes sense. Men and
women have major biological differences that
people ofdifferent races don't have. So, one can
imagine many good laws that treat men and
women differently, but aren't necessary to
The Reed decision completely eliminated the
ERA. The ERA will not fix what is
broken. Instead, it will break what has just been
fixed.
need for an
46
Name
Equal Rights Amendment
Worksheet
1)
According to Steinmetz,whatrvas the vote on the ERA in the U.S. House?
and the U.S. Senate?
2)
According to Steimnetz, what are three types of laws that discriminate against women?
3)
According to Schaef,er, what law was struck down as unconstitutional in Reed
4)
According to Schaefer, what are three popular and good laws that the Court might have to strike
vs. Reecl?
down if the ERA is passed?
5)
According to the Supreme Court, a law that treats people of different races differently must be
or it violates the l4th Amendment,
whereas a law that treats people of different sexes differently must simply be
(Over please)
47
6)
Compare and contrast their views on the test that is used to decide the constitutionality of laws
that treat people differently because of the sex.
7)
Compare and contrast their views on whether the
Civil Rights Act has helped
discrimination against women.
S)
Compare and contrast their views on drafting women into military service.
9)
Who do you agree with and what is their best argument, statistic or example?
48
end