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Item 4-c–UPDATED Resolution –March 20, 2018 BOCC Meeting <br />See Italicized Bold Updates <br />RES-2018-018 <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OFTHE EQUALRIGHTS AMENDMENT <br />WHEREAS,Orange County forthrightly supportsequalrights forall residents ofOrange County; <br />and <br />WHEREAS,womencontinuetoconfrontalackofpoliticalparity,workplacediscrimination,health <br />careinequities,disparaterates ofpoverty,rape and domesticviolenceassaults;and <br />WHEREAS,the United States Constitutionfails toguarantee explicitlythatallrights that itpurports <br />to protect areheld equallybyall residents withoutregardto sex;and <br />WHEREAS,the equalprotectionclauseof the 14thAmendmentneverhasbeeninterpretedto <br />guarantee equalrights forwomen;and <br />WHEREAS,the Equal Rights Amendment [ERA] was drafted to helpcorrectsystemicdiscrimination <br />based on sex, i.e., bysituatingsexasasuspectcategory invokingstrictjudicialscrutiny,aswith <br />race, nationaloriginand religion;and <br />WHEREAS,theERAwas passedbyCongress in 1972 and ratifiedby35 ofthe38states <br />necessaryto put itintotheConstitution,yetwas assumedto haveexpiredin 1982;and <br />WHEREAS,Congress can altertimelimits in theproposingclauses ofamendments,andthe <br />deadlineforthe ERAappearedonlyin the preambleas opposed to theactuallegislation;and <br />WHEREAS,the State ofNevada became the 36th state to approve theERAin 2017; and <br />WHEREAS,SenatorFloydB. McKissick,Jr. andRepresentativeCarlaCunninghamintroduced <br />ERAratificationbillsintheNCGeneralAssemblyinthe 2017longsession,withSenatorMike <br />Woodardco-sponsoringthe Senatebill and RepresentativeHenryM.Michauxco-sponsoringthe <br />Housebill; and <br />WHEREAS,US RepresentativeDavidPrice,Representative AlmaAdams, and Representative G.K. <br />Butterfieldhave previously co-sponsoredbills in Congress to adoptan ERA,andto liftthe time <br />limitson states forratifyingthe ERA;and <br />WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution regarding the Equal Rights <br />Amendmenton November 15, 2016with language similar to that appearing below; <br />NOW THEREFORE,BEITRESOLVED,thatthe Orange County Board of County Commissioners <br />calls onthe US Congress to pass intolawa billto adoptanEqual Rights Amendment,or to remove <br />the timelimitforratificationofthe ERAsothatratificationshallbeachievedupon theaffirmative <br />voteof38 states,ofwhich36alreadyhaveratified;and <br />BE ITFURTHER RESOLVED, thatthe Orange County Board of County Commissionerscalls on <br />theNCGeneralAssemblyto pass into lawabillto ratifythe Equal Rights Amendmentto theUnited <br />States ConstitutionasproposedbyCongress on March22, 1972. <br />This the 20th day of March 2018.