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To amend Res. No. 2018-R105, adopted Jan. 14, 2019, which expressed the Council’s support of ratification by the General Assembly of Virginia of the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution, for the purpose of urging the General Assembly of Virginia to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution during its 2020 session.
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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND:
I. That Resolution No. 2018-R105, adopted January 14, 2019, be and is hereby amended as follows:
WHEREAS, the United States Constitution does not explicitly guarantee equal rights and equal protection for the sexes; and
WHEREAS, the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and state constitutional statements of equality generally do not provide the strict scrutiny for sex-based classifications that is provided for classifications based on race, religion, and national origin; and WHEREAS, state laws are not uniform, and federal laws are not comprehensive, and these laws can be repealed or reduced; and
WHEREAS, the people of the United States continue to experience the negative effects of lack of political parity between men and women, workplace discrimination, health care inequities, disparate rates of poverty, rape, and domestic violence assaults; and
WHEREAS, the Equal Rights Amendment, H. J. Res. 208, § 1, 92d Cong., 2d Sess. (1972) (enacted), provides that “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United Sates or by any State on account of sex;” and
WHEREAS, the Equal Rights Amendment would help ensure women and men have the same constitutional protections; and
WHEREAS, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress in 1972, and has been ratified by 37 states, the most recent being Nevada in 2017 and Illinois in 2018; and
WHEREAS, the time limit for the Equal Rights Amendment appears only in the preamble; and
WHEREAS, for [47] 48 years, the Constitution of Virginia has sought to protect Virginians from discrimination by the Commonwealth of Virginia on the basis of sex; and
WHEREAS, the City of Richmond enforces principles of fair treatment of its employment applicants and employees without discrimination on the basis of sex, and prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace;
NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND:
That the Council supports the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That the Council hereby urges the General Assembly of Virginia, during its [2019] 2020 session, to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
II. This amendatory resolution shall be in force and effect upon adoption.