Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and longtime cosponsor of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney’s legislation to add an amendment to the Constitution in order to protect the rights of women, issued the following statement:

“Passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, a clear an unequivocal statement in our Constitution guaranteeing equal rights for women, is long overdue.  It is an embarrassment for our nation that most countries have gender equality enshrined in their constitutions, while we do not.  It undermines our standing as a nation committed to freedom and equality for all.  It is a matter of simple justice and our leadership in the world that we move quickly to rectify this defect.

“Justice Scalia’s recent comment that the 14th Amendment does not protect the rights of women and members of the LGBT community is yet another reason why swift adoption of the ERA is necessary.  Let’s be clear: Justice Scalia is dead wrong.  His statements fly in the face of the plain language of the 14th Amendment, as well as decades of established precedent.  Fortunately, his views have not become part of the mainstream, and I hope they never do.  Justice Scalia has not seen fit to apply such a cramped reading of the 14th Amendment where it suits his purposes.  Just this past June, he joined a majority of the Court in holding that the 14th Amendment applies the right to keep and bear arms to the states, thereby nullifying many state and local gun control laws.  Somehow, when it comes to the equal protection of the laws based on gender or sexual orientation, he balks. 

“Justice Scalia takes the same narrow and hostile approach to individual rights as the so-called ‘constitutional conservatives’ who have just taken over the House.  It is a dangerous time for equality.  The Equal Rights Amendment will stand as an explicit bulwark of freedom and equality that even Justice Scalia, and regressive forces here in the House, will not be able to ignore.

“I urge the Republican majority to move swiftly on the ERA, to send it to the states for adoption.  The time has long since passed when equality for women should be partisan or controversial.”