DEMOCRATS SUPPORTED THE ERA AND UNIONS

​ This story was my very first post when starting my True Blue Party Blog as a frustrated Democrat in Utah. Since the Equal Rights Amendment is back up for ratification, I thought this deserved another post — just in case you missed it. When I was a child, I remember my father being a voice for the laborer. He belonged to the Teamsters Union in California and even ran to be president of a local office. Workers were being exploited, and wealthy business owners were doing the exploiting. My father won the election and fought for the rights of the blue-collar worker — so maybe there is a little blue in my blood. He fought for laborers’ rights even when wealthy business owners threatened his life and that of his family. I lost my father at age eight, but I can still hear his campaign slogan: “If you vote for me, I’ll vote for YOU.” When I was a child, I did not know that the Democratic Party fought for the rights of laborers and brought about laws to help them. That is one of the reasons why labor unions give their support to the Democratic Party. In my early years, I was not interested in politics, but I did have strong opinions about what was just and fair. I tended to stick up for the underdog. I did vote when I turned 18 and was rather opinionated, but I usually took the lead on who to vote for from my grandfather. I remember in the early 1970s, the Equal Rights Amendment for women was in the air. In the 1940s, both Republicans and Democrats had added their support. Alice Paul, a suffragette leader, first introduced it in 1923 at Seneca Falls during the 75th anniversary of the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention. She called it the “Lucretia Mott Amendment,” which read: “Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction.” The amendment was introduced in every session of Congress until it finally passed in reworded form in 1972. I was in elementary school then. Yet I remember the issue coming back around in the late 70s. It never became law, and this was the clincher: they needed 38 state ratifications to make it part of the Constitution. A seven-year deadline was set. The final state to ratify during that period was Indiana in 1977 — the year I graduated from high school — becoming the 35th state. That left the amendment three states short. Congress extended the deadline to 1982 under public pressure, but it still fell short. I recall hearing Republicans warn that “if you vote for equal rights for women, women will be drafted into the military.” That fear tactic swayed many at the time (though today we have women who voluntarily serve in combat). Looking back, I find even more ridiculous statements were made. For example, Phyllis Schlafly, leader of the STOP ERA movement, claimed the ERA would deny women the right to be supported by their husbands, overturn privacy rights, send women into combat, and uphold abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Other opponents argued it was a federal power grab or too costly for business. Religious groups organized against it. Sound familiar? Utah was one of the states that did not ratify it. It’s hard for me to believe that in modern times we could not pass a law that simply says: Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification. Why would anyone oppose this? To me, asking for equal pay and equal treatment doesn’t mean women are claiming to be the same as men. Of course, there are physical differences. Nor does it mean women don’t want to be mothers, wives, or treated with respect and courtesy. That’s a personal choice. But women have been discriminated against for centuries. It wasn’t until August 26, 1920, that the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote in the fall elections, including the presidential election. I am grateful to the suffragists who persevered from 1848, when the fight began at the Seneca Falls Convention. Charlotte Woodward, the only participant still alive in 1920, was too ill to cast her ballot — but she lived to see women win the vote. I’ve read many stories about what women endured for rights we now take for granted. One name that comes to mind is Susan B. Anthony, who played a pivotal role in the movement. One of her quotes continues to guide me: “Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathy with despised and persecuted ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences.” That’s why I keep this quote on my blog as a reminder. I understand extremists of any kind can twist or pervert laws for their own agenda. But the Equal Rights Amendment is plain and simple. I believe no one should be discriminated against — especially our sisters. As Susan B. Anthony once said: “Men — their rights and nothing more; women — their rights and nothing less.” And I say: “Anything less would be positively medieval.” In my time, the Democratic Party supported the amendment, and the Republican Party did not. And that became one more step in the making of a Democrat.