Opinion: Letter to the Editor: Ready for Passage

In breaking news on Feb 14, Virginia Delegates Ayala and Simon filed new bills that would lead to a vote on whether to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. A majority of the House of Delegates have said they will vote for the Amendment if it is brought to the House floor.

The Equal Rights Amendment will reclaim Virginia’s fame as a birthplace of freedom from undue government interference. The Amendment 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.”

A recent scientific poll by the Wason Center for Public Policy of Christopher Newport University found that 81 percent of Virginians want our state to ratify the Amendment. Virginia has the opportunity to be the 38th and final state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. A House vote representing the Virginia poll respondents would be fitting in the state that forged our representative government. On July 30 of this year, Virginia will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first democratically elected state legislature in our country.

Let's reclaim the narrative. Our state has evolved. The Equal Rights Amendment is ready for passage.

Heather Keppler

Arlington