A march and rally to mark the 100th anniversary of the Equal Rights Amendment took place in Seneca Falls on Friday, and included a number of federal, state and local officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and NY Attorney General Letitia James.
It was not only a celebration of the ERA, but a continued push to get that amendment to be enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
Hochul told the crowd that the discussion and efforts to get that designation has been going on for decades.
“We’ve been talking about the ERA since I was a kid, practically,” said Hochul. “My mother wanted it, I wanted it, my daughter wants it, and I can tell you right now, it better be in place when my new granddaughter, Sophia, gets to be an adult. Because time is up. Time is up. We've waited too long for those basic rights to be enshrined in our Constitution.”
James said that women have waited far too long for their rights as individuals to be codified in the U.S. Constitution.
“The consequences of inaction, indifference and inequality are too real to ignore; health disparities, economic gaps, discrimination to many women who are dying each and every day from the lack of health care,” said James.
During a recent Connections with Evan Dawson program on WXXI, former U.S Representative Carolyn Maloney, who is currently President of the NY Chapter of the National Organization for Women, said that Congress is closer than ever to passing the ERA.
"We have met all of the requirements of Article 5 of the Constitution. We had a two-thirds vote of the House and the Senate. We had 38 states ratified. It is ratified now. It needs to be recognized and placed in the Constitution," said Maloney.
There will be a variety of activities all weekend long in Seneca Falls related to the ERA and other aspects of women’s rights.
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