Carter, O’Connor’s deaths are reminders of ERA’s importance
Sandra Day O’Connor and Rosalynn Carter were both energetic champions of the Equal Rights Amendment. To honor their ERA legacy, we need the ERA made law in Florida and incorporated into the U.S. Constitution.
The ERA would guarantee equal rights for all citizens regardless of sex. Most people don’t know that women are not guaranteed equality in the Constitution. Women continue to be second-rate citizens.
Carter, 96, died Nov. 19 of natural causes. O’Connor, 93, died Dec. 1 due to complications related to advanced dementia.
Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981-2006. O’Connor was a supporter of the ERA and testified in favor of it before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1970, when she was a state senator in Arizona.
She argued that the ERA would not threaten traditional family values or women’s roles, but rather would protect women from discrimination and injustice. She also said the ERA would not affect state laws on abortion, alimony, or child custody.
O’Connor’s views on the ERA did not change when she became a Supreme Court justice. She voted to uphold the constitutionality of the deadline for ratification in 1982, but she also expressed regret that the ERA had not been adopted.
She said the ERA would have made a difference in some of the cases she decided, especially those involving sex discrimination and gender stereotypes. She also said that the ERA would have sent a symbolic message of equality and respect for women.
Rosalynn Carter was the first lady of the United States from 1977-81 and a prominent advocate for women’s rights and mental health. Carter supported the ERA and campaigned for its ratification during her husband’s presidency.
She spoke at rallies, met with state legislators and urged the public to contact their representatives. She also hosted a White House conference on the ERA in 1979, where she declared that “the time for debate is over. We need action now.”
Carter continued to support the ERA after leaving the White House and expressed hope that it would eventually become part of the Constitution. She said in 2016, “I have never understood why some people are so opposed to it. It’s very simple. It just says that women and men are equal before the law.”
The passing of these two extraordinary women should make the time for the ERA now. Women deserve equality under national and state law in the 21st century.