Following its ratification by the requisite three-fourths of the states, the 15th Amendment, granting African American men the right to vote, is formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution. Passed by Congress the year before, the amendment reads, “the right of citizens of the …

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Pass the Equal Rights Amendment NOW!

Campaign by ALIYA – MOVE ON

It’s been over 100 years since the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was introduced in Congress, which would prohibit discrimination based on sex. It’s been over 50 years since it was passed by Congress. And it’s been over four years since Virginia ratified the ERA, pushing it over the required three-quarters state ratification needed for amendments to take effect.

“We the people” in the Constitution should include all of us. Honor the century-worth of women and gender-diverse activists who have pushed the ERA forward. Sign the petition to demand Congress recognize the ERA NOW!

Why is this important?

Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

The Equal Rights Amendment passed Congress in 1972 and since 2020 has met the three-quarters state ratification requirement necessary for it to go into effect. But because it was not ratified by states within a specific window of time, Republicans in Congress are blocking it from going into effect.

Champions in Congress, including Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Cori Bush, founded the historic Congressional Equal Rights Amendment Caucus and are working to pass the ERA and have it enshrined into our Constitution. They introduced a joint resolution between the Senate and the House that would affirm the ratification of the ERA, but with Congressional Republicans blocking its passage, we need to show the overwhelming public support for the ERA and demand it be passed THIS YEAR.

The ERA would not have gotten to where it is today if it weren’t for the tireless efforts of everyday people over the past century—and we have to keep up the fight to demand Congress do its job and recognize the ERA as the 28th Amendment.

Source: MoveOn.org

On March 28, 1834, the U.S. Senate censured President Andrew Jackson in a tug-of-war that had questionable constitutional roots but important political overtones.

Congressional censure motions against a sitting President have always been controversial. In addition to Jackson, John Tyler and James Polk faced censure resolutions. Abraham Lincoln faced a censure problem during the Civil War, which was ironic, since Representative Lincoln led the censure movement against President Polk.

In modern years, censure motions were introduced against Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, but not pursued. 

Censure motions are subject to votes in either the House of Representatives or the Senate, and their sharply worded language is essentially a public shaming of government officials.

The most-famous censure motion in congressional history happened in 1954, when the Senate passed a censure motion against Joseph McCarthy, who was a key figure in the post-World War II Communist Red Scare era.

The motion said that McCarthy “acted contrary to senatorial ethics and tended to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute, to obstruct the constitutional processes of the Senate, and to impair its dignity; and such conduct is hereby condemned.”

The effective punishment came against McCarthy in a separate motion, where he lost a key committee chairmanship.

The constitutional precedent for the censure motion comes from Article 1, Section 5, Clause 2, which says that “each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.”

For the complete article go to : constitutioncenter.org

In ,(2014) Alaska lost a legend when Ruth Schmidt passed away at the age of 97.

This post was written by Elaine Rose
CEO
Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest in 2014

In a time when many women weren’t encouraged to enter scientific fields, Ruth received her Master’s (in 1939) and Ph.D. (in 1948) from Columbia University before going on to become a prominent geologist. She moved to Alaska in 1956, and later founded the Geology Department at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

An article in the Anchorage Daily News from April summed up just how impressive Ruth’s accomplishments were: “Recently, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists announced it would honor the organization’s first 100 female members to commemorate its centennial in 2017. The first woman featured is Ruth A.M. Schmidt.”

Ruth was a treasure to the state of Alaska, not just because of her professional accomplishments, but also because of her storied philanthropic work.

As her obituary notes, “she supported conservation, opera and symphony, social services, public media, science, and science education for women and minorities.”

There’s something else to add to the list: Ruth supported women’s health and reproductive justice.

We were overwhelmed and amazed when we learned that part of Ruth’s will included a bequest to Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest, the first-ever contribution of that type to our organization.

We want to thank and honor Ruth for her support of women’s health and reproductive freedom.

Because of Ruth’s generosity, we have been able to wage a stronger fight against the threats to women’s health posed by politicians who want to interfere in personal medical decisions. Coupled with the support of thousands of activists like you – as donors, volunteers, and community supporters – we’ve been able to advance a progressive agenda across Alaska, Idaho, and Washington fighting for women and families.

Ruth was a trailblazer for women, for science, for Alaska, and for reproductive health and rights.