HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2020.09.03 - 33625MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION #20345
BY: Commissioners Gwen Markham, District #9; Marcia Gershenson, District #13; Helanie Zack, District
#18; Penny Luebs, District #16; David Woodward, District #19; William Miller, District #14; Angela Powell,
District#10; Nancy Quarles, District#17
IN RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS — SUPPORT FOR THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
RATIFICATION
To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
WHEREAS neither "women" nor "sex' are words that appear in the Constitution, revealing the limits of the
Founding Fathers' narrow understanding of women as equal citizens; and
WHEREAS the Constitution was written by and for white men with means, which reserved its principle of equal
justice under law for the sole benefit of the authors and their privileged peers; and
WHEREAS this meant that women and people of color were openly regarded as less than full citizens and thus
excluded from many legal protections because of their sex, race, and/or ethnicity; and
WHEREAS one hundred years after women gained suffrage, the time for a constitutional amendment explicitly
guaranteeing equal rights regardless of sex is long overdue; and
WHEREAS authored by legendary activists Alice Paul, Crystal Eastman, and others in 1923 and later revised,
the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) mandates that: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied
or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." and
WHEREAS when the ERA was written, women's status in American society was still often considered secondary
to men's; and
WHEREAS legal restrictions, such as prohibitions against voting and property ownership, combined with long-
standing stereotypes about women's roles meant that women were relegated to certain defined spaces and not
treated as full citizens; and
WHEREAS in particular, many women of color were further constrained by the compounding effects of
entrenched racial, ethnic, and gender biases, reinforcing a societal hierarchy where they had diminished status
when compared with white women; and
WHEREAS ratifying the ERA in the U.S. Constitution would affirm that sex discrimination is inconsistent with the
nation's core value of equal protection under the law, and it would send a clear message about a national
commitment to the inherent equality of all people; and
WHEREAS on May 22, 1972, Michigan was among first states to ratify the ERA; and
WHEREAS the amendment also bolsters the argument that judicial review of cases alleging sex discrimination
should utilize the highest level of legal scrutiny, requiring a compelling state interest to deem a particular sex -
based action or practice unconstitutional; and
WHEREAS the amendment should be understood as just one fundamental element of the fight for gender
equality, one that provides an extra layer of protection that could make a difference in undoing long-standing
discriminatory practices; and
WHEREAS the absence of an explicit prohibition against sex discrimination in the U.S. Constitution remains one
key impediment undermining the fight for gender equality and women's progress overall and the ERA is an
important tool to accomplish this progress; and
WHEREAS boosted by activism of women's rights and civil rights advocates, the U.S. Congress passed the ERA
in 1973 and initially gave states until 1979 to ratify it by a three-fourths majority; and
WHEREAS the deadline was extended to 1982, but the ERA fell three states short of the 38 -state threshold; and
WHEREAS recently, a groundswell of support for women's rights led Nevada to ratify the ERA in 2017, followed
by Illinois in 2018. In January 2020, Virginia became the historic and crucial 38th state to ratify the ERA (pending
legal challenges, however, meaning the amendment's future remains uncertain); and
WHEREAS in a bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on February 13, 2020 to eliminate the
deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment; and
WHEREAS further action on this measure has been blocked by U.S. Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
(R -Kentucky) in support of the Trump Administration's opposition to the ratification of Equal Rights Amendment;
and
WHEREAS there is precedent ratification constitutional amendments beyond the original seven year deadline
provided in the U.S. Constitution, the 27th Amendment was originally proposed in 1789 and was not ratified until
1992; and
WHEREAS former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes stated: "Congress, in controlling
the promulgation of the adoption of a constitutional amendment, has the final determination of the question
whether, by lapse of time, its proposal of the amendment had lost its vitality before being adopted by the requisite
number of legislatures.": and
WHEREAS the adoption of federal legislation to eliminate the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights
Amendment is necessary to place the principles of gender equality and equal rights into the U.S. Constitution and
the framework of our government.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners hereby supports
legislation pending in the U.S. Senate eliminating the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights
Amendment and calls upon the U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump
to end their opposition to gender equality and allow this measure to come before the U.S. Senate for a vote.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds is requested to forward
copies of the adopted resolution to the Oakland County Congressional delegation.
Chairperson, I move the adoption of the foregoing resolution.
Commissioner'Gwen Markham
Dis ict #9
Commie s�s�o er �e�nnyuebs
Dis d t #11 //
Com issione ancy Quarles
District #17
Commissioner Helain ack
District #18
Commissioner William Miller
M1#1 q
Com ionerAn Ia Po ell
Di ict 1 Ul�
Commissioner David Woodward
District#19
Commissioner KQrcia Gershenson
District #13
Resolution #20345
August 20, 2020
The Chairperson referred the resolution to the Health, Safety and Human Services Committee. There were
no objections.
Resolution #20345 September 3, 2020
Moved by Luebs seconded by Miller the resolution be adopted.
Discussion followed.
Vote on resolution:
AYES: Jackson, Kowall, Long, Luebs, Markham, McGillivray, Miller, Nelson, Powell, Quarles,
Spisz, Taub, Weipert, Woodward, Zack, Gershenson. (16)
NAYS: Kochenderfer, Middleton, Hoffman. (3)
A sufficient majority having voted in favor, the resolution was adopted.
STATE OF MICHIGAN)
COUNTY OF OAKLAND)
I, Lisa Brown, Clerk of the County of Oakland, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is a true and
accurate copy of a resolution adopted by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners on September 3,
2020, with the original record thereof now remaining in my office.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Circuit Court at Pontiac,
Michigan thisDayeptemb r, 2020. _
1 HEREBY APPROVE THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION Lisa Brown, Oakland County