Whereas, no amendment to the United States Constitution has taken longer than four years for ratification; and Whereas, the fifteen states that have not ratified the Equal Rights Amendment have considered it and rejected it time and time again, some of them as often as six times in six years; therefore, be it Resolved, by the House of Representatives of the Eightieth General Assembly of the State of Illinois, that the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois urges the United States Congress not to adopt any resolution to extend the time period for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, and that copies of this resolution be transmitted to each member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. MICHIGAN CITY, IND. August 23, 1978. Hon. BIRCH BAYH, U.S. Senate, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR BAYH: Our organization, the Michigan City Business and Professional Women's Club, would like to extend our appreciation for your persistent effort on behalf of the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. More and more women who were a part of the silent majority are now speaking out and becoming activist. Our organization supports extension and ratification. It is its No. 1 priority. Since Indiana's ratification we have followed the political and procedural manueverings in states such as Nevada, Virginia and Illinois with concern. Our attention is now focused on the United States Senate. The media tells us that the Senate may try and dodge the question by more procedural delays. The members of our organization would like to help keep this from happening. We have written to Senator Lugar. His reply was that he is paying particular attention to the "fairness" and constitutional precedent of exending the deadline for ratification. Twenty-two of the twenty-six amendments were ratified without an established time limit. Two hundred and two years is too long to consider the "fairness" of equal rights for all American citizens under the law. How can we help? Sincerely, MARGARET CANESSA, Legislative Representative. DEAR SENATOR BAYH: The Mishawaka Commission on the Status of Women was formed in 1976. Its purpose is to develop recommendations to eliminate sex discrimination in all spheres of community life, to develop programs which will facilitate this process and to develop recommendations for service which will enhance the role of women and assist them in making maximum contribution to the world around them. Consistent with our purpose, we wish to thank you for your continuing support of the status of women and urge your continued support of H.R. Res. 638 to extend the time for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Again, thank you for your support. Very truly yours, PEGGY GRAY, Chairman, Legislative Committee. MRS. WILLIAM G. MILLIKEN, Hon. JAMES O. EASTLAND, Dirksen Building, Washington, D.O. DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: An extension of the ERA time limit is vital to an ongoing healthy debate of an issue that has been shamelessly misrepresented by its opponents. ERA might well have been ratified today, had full debate and vote occurred in each of the fifteen non-ratifying states, where in some instances, parliamentary pranks have kept the issue from even coming to the floor. Justice and equal protection under the law have never come easily or without conflict. It took eighty years for the people of this country to finally decide to outlaw slavery. It took another half-century to grant women the right to vote. But justice knows no time lines, and the duration of the struggle ought not to be the criteria of its validity. The issue at hand is not time but equal protection under the law. To cut off debate on that issue would be a travesty of justice, not only for women, but for all of us. Sincerely, MRS. WILLIAM G. MILLIKEN. MICHIGAN WOMEN'S COMMISSION, Hon. ROBERT P. GRIFFIN, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR Griffin: On September 21, 1978, the Michigan Women's Commission passed a motion again requesting your support of S.B. 134, Extension for the Equal Rights Amendment. As Michigan's official Women's Advocate Agency, it is our concern that the law of the land reflect equality for all its citizens. Our heartfelt support for equal rights will not end with a time deadline. We have a duty to ourselves and to each other to persevere. We urge you to continue your support for Equal Rights through voting "yes" for extension and "no" to recission. Our Missouri legislators have represented their constituents year after year for the past six years by refusing to ratify ERA. After six years what more can we possibly do to show that those of us in Missouri do "not" want ERA? To extend the time period would break the original agreement and would set a bad precedence for constitutional changes. After this three year, three months extension how many more can we expect? If the Congress votes it should in all fairness require a two thirds majority and States should have the right to rescind ratification.. ASSOCIATION OF THE WIS PRO FAMILY FORUM. Hon. BIRCH BAYH, Chairperson, Senate Subcommittee on Constitution, STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Trenton, N.J., August 2, 1978. DEAR SENATOR BAYH: I understand that your Committee began hearing testimony today on the Joint House Resolution to extend the time limit for the ratification of the E.R.A. Amendment. This issue has been of great importance to me since its onset. I have been an active advocate through my participation in the recent Washington march and through my activities at the state level. New Jersey is among one of the thirty-five states representing three-fourths of the nation's population which has ratified the E.R.A. Amendment. These numbers indicate that the majority of the population support the passage of this amendment and that the broad based support for the social and economic changes implicit in the E.R.A. Amendment justify a further extension of time to allow the rest of the nation to join in this modern-day movement for equality. The establishment of a Division on Women in New Jersey and our affirmative action policies represent only a small step toward the implementation of equality for women. Without a constitutional amendment, our efforts will lack the necessary incentive for continued growth. Therefore, I strongly urge your consideration and support for this important issue. Sincerely, BRENDAN T. BYRNE, Governor. AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN, OHIO STATE DIVISION, Hon. JAMES EASTLAND, DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: Ohio members of American Association of University Women urge your support for Senate Joint Resolution 134, without crippling amendments, to extend the time limit for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Since ERA is already favored by the majority, its passage through the state legislatures should be allowed to continue. Debate is still active and should not be short-circuited by an arbitrary deadline. We believe ERA to be a fundamental guarantee of human rights in the American tradition of basic constitutional guarantees. Please vote for the extension and to support cloture, if needed, in the Senate. Sincerely, SARA DUGAN WOLFE, Cochairman, Legislative Program Committee. PENNSYLVANIA SOCIAL SERVICES UNION. MEMBER, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR: The Pennsylvania Social Services Union, Local 668. SEIU, AFL-CIO, is a statewide union local in Pennsylvania representing 12,000 workers in jobs performing social and rehabilitation work, and equal rights protection. An inherent ideal of our members, both in the work they do and in their own lives, is the belief in equal rights and equal representation for all United States citizens. It is the elected representatives of these members who have passed ERA resolutions, have ben actively pursuing passage of the ERA through letterwriting campaigns, lobbying in Washington, and participating in ERA demonstrations, and who are continuing to press for the ERA extension. We believe the ERA to be a human rights issue which affects all Americans— men, women and children-economically, socially and politically. We believe to support ERA and ERA extension legislation is an admission that the inequality which has existed between the sexes should not continue, and that more than half of our citizens are not second class citizens because they are women. We believe that you feel we are all equal, as well. With these thoughts in mind, we hope that you will support ERA extension legislation with your vote in the Senate. Only if there is an extension can ERA be ratified, only if ERA is ratified will there be equal protection for all regardless of sex. Our 12,000 workers in Pennsylvania urge you to vote in favor of ERA exten sion, not with crippling amendments, but simply for the additional time needed to secure passage in three additional states. We also ask that you commit yourself to voting for cloture, should a filibuster be attempted on this important human rights issue. The ERA extension won a strong victory in the House of Representatives, we hope our U.S. Senators will not misrepresent the views of the same constituents. Please vote yes on extension, and yes on cloture to end a filibuster on the issue. Thank you for taking the time to consider our views, and the feelings of the 12,000 citizens we represent. Sincerely yours, JANE PERKINS, Secretary/Treasurer. ANDREW L. STERN, President. PUBLIC INTEREST LAW CENTER OF PHILADELPHIA, Senator JAMES O. EASTLAND, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: The Law Center, a non-profit law firm specializing in a wide variety of civil rights matters, strongly supports the proposed exten. sion of the time for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. We urge that you agree with the House of Representatives and vote for extension and against recision for this important legal protection for women. Historically, Constitutional amendments have sometimes, but not always, been given time limits for ratification. Since the turn of the century, seven years has been a typical time limit, if one was imposed. However, two very different methods of suggesting a time for ratification have been employed by Congress. A few amendments, such as the Eighteenth, have included a limit in their texts. Congress, and each ratifying state, thus knowingly voted on the amendment to be effective only if ratified by the required number of states in seven years. Others, like the ERA, have contained no intrinsic limitation period, although one was initially set by a separate resolution of Congress. Especially because lawmakers are well aware of the alternative method, no state legislature can claim to have voted only on condition of the required limitation. The Constitution, of course, provides simply that an amendment be ratified in a reasonable time. The policy determination effectuated and symbolized by the Equal Rights Amendment is surely the most significant such decision since the post-civil war amendments intended to make the black freed man completely equal before the law. The reasonableness of a seven-year limitation cannot be determined by precedent concerning important but far less complex matters, such as limiting the number of Presidential terms, prohibition of alcohol, or even women's right to vote. Recision of a state's ratification has been attempted but has never previously been permitted. It would be unwise and illogical to permit continued shifts to alter previous legislatures' expressed mandate about a constitutional matter. We conclude that there is no legal or sound policy-related obstacle to extending the time for ratification according to the will of Congress as expressed in a resolution. Similarly, recision can and should be prohibited by Congress. The opportunity to take this step should be welcomed by lawmakers who support equal status before the law for all women and men. Very truly yours, HARRIET Katz, Utah needs help . . . the women of Utah would like to be included in the Constitution. We need extension the deadline for ratification of ERA to allow full debate in all the States. Time should not be the issue. 35-065-79-30 RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS ADRIAN DOMINICAN SISTERS, Adrian, Mich., September 25, 1978. U.S. SENATE, DEAR SENATOR: We are the General Council of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Adrian, Michigan. There are 1700 members in our Religious Congregation. These members minister in 32 states, Washington, DC and 10 foreign countries. As a leadership team of a women's organization, we support ERA as an issue of social justice. Therefore, we urge you to vote for H.J. Res. 638 without crippling amendments. We believe it is also important that you vote for cloture on the first cloture vote so that the ERA extension will receive a fair hearing. It is disappointing to see the ERA issue confused with so many other separate issues such as abortion. We would appreciate the opportunity for the states to give the Equal Rights Amendment serious scrutiny on its own merit. It is our hope that during the time of extension that can be accomplished. Thank you for considering these observations as you cast your vote. Sincerely, DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: The Executive Committee of the General Board of the American Baptist Churches, USA, sent this telegram (copy attached) to Senator Robert Byrd. We urge that you take all possible action as well to ensure that a vote on the extension resolution, H.J. Res. 638, does take place in the Senate this year. Sincerely, Enclosure. [Mailgram] CORA SPARROWK, President. ROBERT C. CAMPBELL, General Secretary. This mailgram is a confirmation copy of the following message: Senator ROBERT BYRD, AMERICAN BAPTIST CHURCHES, Washington, D.C. By action taken September 21, 1978, the Executive Committee of the General Board of the American Baptist Churches, U.S.A., meeting in Washington D.C., urges that you make every effort to place H.J. Res. 638. extending the time allotted for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment by the States before the Senate this session. |