VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The following is a news release by Sharon Buhr and the VCSU community campus group known as What In The World is Going On?
“The VOTE EQUALITY VAN will be here in Valley City on Friday, August 27 from 3-5 pm! It will made a 2-hour stop at the north end of the VCSU walk bridge which is right across the street to the south of Connect Church…at 4th Street South East and Central Avenue.
The van is an unusually eye-catching vehicle…lavender and purple in color…you won’t miss it.
Everyone is invited to stop by to learn more about its purpose! And there will be snacks to enjoy also!
The van is traveling the country educating voters about the 28th Amendment, which is the Equal Rights Amendment. The vehicle, is operated by Vote Equality U.S. and is sponsored in Valley City by What In The World Is Going On?
The ERA van sports signatures from supporters of the amendment, collected throughout the country. The folks in the van will be sharing a nonpartisan message of gender equality directly to all U.S. citizens. So everyone is encouraged to stop by to learn more about the ERA…the Equal Rights Amendment…which will be the 28th Amendment. Three out of four Americans support the ERA.
80% of people in the U.S. mistakenly think that men and women are guaranteed equal rights in the U.S. Constitution. They are wrong. One short sentence would make all the difference to ensure protection under the Constitution, regardless of sex or gender!
This Amendment is very simple…it states: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” What it does is to give and assure equal rights to women.
Women make up about 47% of the work force in our country, yet, women make anywhere from 22-46% less money than men. Women also have less chance for managerial opportunities.
The ERA will put women on an equal footing in the legal systems of all 50 states, particularly in areas where women have historically been treated as second-class citizens, including in cases of public education, divorce, child custody, domestic violence, and sexual assault.
The ERA was passed in 1972 and the national legislation included a 7 year deadline to be ratified by at least 38 states, then that deadline was extended to a 1982 deadline. 35 states ratified it but not until this past year, 2020, did we get 38 states to ratify the ERA (when Virginia ratified it).
In 1975 our ND Legislature voted YES to ratify the amendment, and then again in 2007 the ND Legislature voted to ratify the amendment—a reaffirmation.
But now this last legislative session the North Dakota legislature decided to rescind ratification! The question has been asked whether our present legislators do not think that women should be equal under the law. And the ND Legislature did the vote by a voice vote so voters cannot even find out how their own legislators voted!
Everyone is invited to stop down to see this lavender/purple van and write your name on it to signify your support for equal rights for women in the United Sates. The van will be located at the north end of the VCSU Walk bridge , just south of Connect Church at 4th Street SE and Central Avenue on Friday, August 27 from 3-5 pm.”
For more information call, Sharon Buhr at 840-0973. Follow the tour progress at: https://voteequality.us/tour/2021-midwest-tour/ and on social media at @VoteEqualityUS. Itinerary is subject to change based on COVID-19 concerns or restrictions.