Supporters, detractors spar at Nev. ERA hearing
By Seth A. Richardson, Reno Gazette-Journal
Activists packed a Nevada state Senate committee room on Monday during a three-hour hearing for the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that yielded a wildly divided perspectives.
The Equal Rights Amendment, commonly known as the ERA, was birthed out of the feminist movement during the late-1960s and early 1970s. It states constitutional rights apply to everyone in the country regardless of sex.
The amendment was nearly ratified, first passing Congress in 1972 but fell three states short of the requisite 38 needed for ratification before the deadline of June 30, 1982, after mostly southern and a few western states voted it down.