Artists4ERA
Inspiring equality for everyone!
“How will the Equal Rights Amendment impact family law?”
- The 28th Amendment (Equal Rights) will be directly applicable to the many cases of state sanctioned sex discrimination in areas of child marriage, divorce, custody, adoption and citizenship. Besides the highly anticipated coverage of girls / women / mothers, the amendment will also protect fathers and LGBTQ+ people.
- Around 248,000 children as young as 12 were married in the U.S. between 2000 and 2010. At least 31 percent of these children were married to a spouse aged 21 or older (in the U.S., 70-80 percent of all marriages involving a child end in divorce.) The two most common exceptions to laws that ban child marriage are: (1) parental consent (2) judicial approval. Forty-six states legally allow child marriage. Twenty 20 states have no required minimum age for marriage, while other states set different minimum legal ages for marriage for girls and for boys. Only four states, New Jersey, Delaware, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, have laws in place that prohibit marriage under age 18, with no exceptions.
- Women in every state report injustice in their family law cases, especially battered mothers trying to protect their children from abusive fathers who aggressively litigate against them, using family court to stalk, harass, punish, and impoverish their former partners and children. (source: National Organization for Women Foundation)
- The US Immigration and Nationality Act confers citizenship on children of unmarried U.S. citizen fathers and noncitizen mothers born outside the U.S. only if they meet certain requirements, including their father’s guarantee of financial support and longer residency requirements than for U.S. citizen mothers. This is one area of state sponsored sex discrimination that could be challenged with the 28th Amendment in place. (source, Equality Now)
- An American Bar Association report states that “state-sanctioned discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals who wish to raise children has dramatically increased in recent years.” Ten states now permit state-licensed welfare agencies to refuse to place children with LGBTQ individuals and same-sex couples if doing so conflicts with the agency’s religious or moral beliefs. (sources, NBC News and LGBTMAP.org)
ADDITIONAL FAQs
What Changes
“What will the 28th Amendment (Equal Rights) really do?”
About Us
“Who is VoteEqualityUS and what’s your plan?”
Abortion
“Doesn’t this open the door for abortion rights?”
Bathrooms
“Will we all have to use the same bathrooms?”
Bipartisan
“Do most Americans support Equal Rights in our Constitution?”
Black Lives Matter
“What’s your position on Black Lives Matter?”
Business Case
“How does gender equality impact businesses?”
Contracts
“Won’t women contractors lose enhanced status for contract bids?”
Convention
“Can’t we just do this during the constitutional convention?”
COVID-19
“What kind of impact is COVID-19 having on gender equality?”
Deadline
“Didn't the ratification deadline already pass?”
Discrimination
“What government gender discrimination is happening now?”
Draft
“Does constitutional equality mean women will be drafted?”
Equal Pay
“Will this help women get paid more equally?”
Family Law
“How will the Equal Rights Amendment impact family law?”
Fear of Unknown
“How can we do this when we don't know what will happen?”
Gender Violence
“How can constitutional gender equality help with gender violence?”
Ginsburg
“Didn’t RBG say something about starting over?”
History
“What is the history of the 28th Amendment (Equal Rights)?”
Insurance
“What about insurance? Someone said my rates will go up.”
International
“How do we compare to other countries?”
Intersectionality
“Is the 28th Amendment (Equal Rights) for all of us?”
Military
“How will the Equal Rights Amendment impact our military?”
Pregnancy
“Will this help with pregnancy discrimination?”
Rescissions
“Didn’t a few states rescind their ratifications?”
Social Security
“Will my widow lose her social security benefits when I die?”
Sports
“Will my daughter lose her girls only soccer team?”
Tax Exempt Status
“Will my church lose its tax exempt status?”
Title VII and Title IX
“How is this different from Title VII and Title IX?”
Topless
“Will women now be walking around topless?”
Transgender
“Will this provide protections for transgender individuals?”
Virginia v Ferriero
“Isn’t there a court case about the 28th Amendment (Equal Rights)?”
