Not sure what the bigger surprise was here – that a House of Delegates subcommittee voted 5-2 on a party-line vote to kill a bill that would ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, or that the ERA was on the docket in 2014 in the first place.
To say that the press release from the Senate Democratic Caucus on the Republican-led vote to kill the ERA was pretty much all about politics is an understatement.
The State Senate passed a measure ratifying the ERA, which was proposed by Congress in 1972, last month.
As was pointed out in the press release, every Democratic senator voted for the measure. Eight senators voted against the measure and seven senators refused to vote. All fifteen were Republican men. The recorded vote can be found here.
“Given the recent comment from Sen. Martin about pregnant women being ‘hosts,’ we are reminded that equality for women is still a goal that we must continue to fight for,” said Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington). “It is clear that Republicans have a long way to go to demonstrate they believe in equality for women. Republican policies have harmed women’s health and invaded our privacy.”
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