January 21, 2024
Dear Senators Gillibrand, Hirono, Duckworth, Warren, Stabenow, Klobuchar, Smith, Shaheen, Hassan, Cortez Masto, Rosen, Murray, Cantwell, Baldwin & Butler;
The United States is in a Constitutional Crisis on your watch. Democratic Women Senators are 30% of the Democratic Senators. This is your moment in history to demand equality in our Democracy for generations to come.
We need your leadership now!
How can you do everything in your power to stabilize the foundation of our Democracy and make sure that the Government honors and respects all American citizens especially its Women and girls?
On January 27, 2024 the Equal Rights Amendment (“ERA”) will have been part of our Constitution for 4 years. Women are citizens of equal stature in this great country.
As you know the political winds have undermined publication of an updated Constitution with the 28th Amendment.
As a result both the courts and Artificial Intelligence are basing their decisions/algorithms on an old Constitution which was written by and for men.
The 19th Amendment removes discrimination based on sex regarding voting. The ERA is the 2nd prong of the strategy to remedy the exclusion of women from the Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th & 15th)
The suffragists had no access to the corridors of power and positioned themselves outside of the White House.
We have put you into the corridors of power.
You need to follow the path of the suffragists and swing the president into doing his job.
Joe Biden is not a king and has no right to throw the Constitutional equality of half of the country under the bus for 3 years.
You, our 15 women senators, understand how dangerous this is both domestically and globally.
At this moment in history America needs you to go into President Biden’s office as a group,
- demand that “We The People” receive our Constitution published with the fully ratified Equal Rights Amendment and
- refuse to leave the office until President Biden calls the Federal Archivist and you are handed our updated Constitution that tells the world that American women are equal citizens.
What America is asking you to do is bold leadership.
Publication will put wind in the sails for a Democratic win in November.
The status quo is untenable.
Sincerely,
The American People
Notes -
Every Woman Senator co-sponsored and voted for SJRes4 which stated that the ERA is valid and part of the Constitution (it was confusingly titled as a remove the deadline bill)
“Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That notwithstanding any time limit contained in House Joint Resolution 208, 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972, the article of amendment proposed to the States in that joint resolution is valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution, having been ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States.”
Review SJRes39 for a current outline
Note the archivist has received 2 letters signed by 10 Republican Senators saying that the Equal Rights Amendment should not be published.
Republican letter 2/8/22 from Portman, Johnson & Romney https://bit.ly/3GFdMQQ Republican Letter 2/18/22 from Lankford, Daines, Moran, Boozman, Hyde-Smith Graham Lee https://www.lankford.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/02162022%20ERA%20Letter%20w%20signers.pdf
No companion letters were written by Democratic Senators at the time. The Federal Archivist Coleen Shogan needs a phone call from President Biden instructing her to perform her ministerial duty.
Republicans have proposed SRes107
"Recognizing the expiration of the Equal Rights Amendment proposed by Congress in March 1972, and observing that Congress has no authority to modify a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment after the amendment has been submitted to the States or after the amendment has expired."
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-resolution/107/text?s=2&r=1&q={“search":"sres+107"}
On January 25, 2022 when the ERA became fully effective a letter was written by Senators Blumenthal, Klobuchar, Cortez Masto, and Congresswomen Speier and Maloney to assistant Attorney General Schroeder -
https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/125.22olceraletter.pdf
You can speak to Russ Feingold American Constitution Society about the Constitutional basis for publication. rfeingold@acslaw.org 202-805-2035
See the 2/27/23 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops letter to the Senate Judiciary against the ERA - https://www.usccb.org/resources/ERA_Letter_and_Backgrounder_2023.pdf