remember the ERA?

    































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































      "ERA" stands for "Equal Rights Amendment", meaning equal rights for women. The ERA was proposed and rejected in the 1970's, and generated a lot of controversy. The amendment simply stated 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". It doesn't sound controversial. Women already had the vote, and could own property, although a woman rarely had credit in her own name ( only in her husband's name ).
    Some people ( male and female ) were afraid the ERA would mean that women would be drafted to serve in the army, although there were no such plans. Others went so far as to claim that if women had equal educational and career opportunities, they wouldn't need to marry, wouldn't have any children, and the human race would die out ( I didn't make that up ).
     On the other side of the controversy, some people ( male and female ) were afraid that without a specific guarantee of their rights in the U.S. Constitution, any rights that women had ( except for the right to vote ) could be legislated away by a conservative majority in congress.
     Would the ERA pass today? It would need to be passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and by 3/4 of the states ( 38 states ) to become a part of the Constitution.