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1 (August 23, 2004)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthaazsk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS20217 Updated August 23, 2004 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Equal Rights Amendments: State Provisions Leslie W. Gladstone Analyst in American National Government Domestic Social Policy Division Summary Twenty states adopted state equal rights amendments between 1879 and 1998. The texts of most of these amendments either are similar to the proposed federal amendment or restate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The timing of the enactment of these state amendments and the choice of wording reflect both the ebb and flow of the women's movement in the United States and the political culture of the particular states at the time of passage. A brief history of the women's rights movement as it relates to the passage of state equal rights amendments is included. The report ends with the text and the date of enactment of each amendment. Introduction Twenty states have adopted constitutions or constitutional amendments providing that equal rights under the law shall not be denied because of sex1. Most of these provisions repeat the broad language of the proposed federal amendment;2 in others, the wording resembles the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.3 The earliest state constitutional rights provision on record, the California provision of 1879, differs from both of these models by limiting the equal rights conferred to entering or pursuing a business, profession, vocation, or employment. Interestingly, the other two 19th century rights provisions, those of Wyoming (1890) and Utah (1896), are broadly written to insure political and civil equality to women. Most state amendments were adopted in the 20th century, between 1971 and 1978. These years approximate the period when the federal Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was before the states for 1 The number of states with equal rights provisions in their constitutions has not changed since this report was first issued on June 3, 1999. 2 Section 1 of the proposed federal Equal Rights Amendment reads: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. 3 For texts of state equal rights amendments, see listing at end of this report. Congressional Research Service **o The Library of Congress

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