VCC Magazine Winter 2020

V irginia C apitol C onnections , W inter 2020 24 Pass The Equal Rights Amendment By Frances Broaddus-Crutchfield Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex. Just 23 words, but the struggle to pass the Equal Rights Amendment has been long and arduous since its introduction to Congress by Alice Paul in 1923, its passage by the House and Senate in 1972, and the still existing need for ratification by 38 states. Now, after many failed attempts even to bring it to the floor for a vote in the House, Virginia has the opportunity to be the 38th and final state needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The omission of women from the Constitution seems to date back before 1776, when Abigail Adams wrote in a letter to her husband John, “Remember the ladies.” He didn’t. George Washington’s mother, Mary Ball Washington, never remarried after the death of George’s father, because, according to Virginia law, the new husband would become the owner of her land, which she wanted to leave to her sons. She bought antiques and china for her daughter, to whom she couldn’t leave land. Two hundred years later, Delegate Barbara Jordan, who served in the United States House of Representatives 1973-1979, said, “I felt somehow for many years that GeorgeWashington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake.” I, too, felt left out when my first husband was killed in a car accident. He left no will. Our five-month-old son inherited everything, and I received a 1/3 Dower Right, according to Virginia intestacy laws. I will never forget the humiliation of standing in a courtroom asking to be the legal guardian of my still-nursing birth child, and requesting permission to sell enough of his land to pay his inheritance tax. Permission granted, I was required to pay the Commissioner of Accounts of Hanover County every year for the next 18 to check my son’s tax returns to make sure I, his own mother, was not cheating him. Over the years, a myriad of struggles for equality have continued in sports, in the workplace, and the Military, to name a few. Forty years ago, many banks required a male to cosign for a credit card. It was not until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 that lenders were supposed to cease discrimination because of gender and marital status, and in 2012 women still were charged half a percentage point more on credit card interest. Many employers required women to wear skirts and closed-toe shoes. Their manner of dressing was blamed for men’s inappropriate advances. Sexual harassment in the workplace was not recognized until 1977, and rape by a spouse was not declared a crime in all 50 states until 1993. Women were charged more for health insurance until 2010, and the list goes on…With no protection in the Constitution, women’s rights were subject to changing state laws and could easily be lost to the whim of a political party. In a speech to the Women’s Caucus last year, Senator Mamie Locke said, “Show me in the Constitution—you know that ‘We the People’ document—where it clearly states that there is a clear protection for sexual equality.” We can’t. “We the People” meant “We the Men.” In fact, Amendment XIV, Section 2, specifically references “male inhabitants” and “male citizens.” In this country, founded for wealthy white men by wealthy white men, Virginia was the first state to decimate the Indians and steal their land, and also the first state to barter human souls and bodies into Parking available adjacent to building Phone 804-644-1702 FAX: 804-644-1703 E-Mail: catering@whitehousecateringva.com Web Site: www.whitehousecateringva.com hen it comes to events no one throws a party like David Napier. Known throughout Central Virginia for his wonderful food and hospitality, David is delighted to have opened his catering facility in the heart of Shockoe Bottom. No event is too small or large. Delicious Box Lunches delivered. O ne of Richmond’s most elegant dining rooms is now exclusively available for your private parties and special events. Our award winning chefs produce an array of dishes from steaks and seafood to vegetarian and international masterpieces that will satisfy the most discriminating palate. The Old City Bar is the perfect place to celebrate. See Pass The Equal Rights Amendment, continued on page 26