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7 <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the United States Constitution fails to guarantee explicitly that all rights <br />that it purports to protect are held equally by all residents without regard to sex; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment never has been <br />interpreted to guarantee equal rights for women; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the Equal Rights Amendment [ERA] was drafted to help correct systemic <br />discrimination based on sex, i.e., by situating sex as a suspect category invoking strict judicial <br />scrutiny, as with race, national origin and religion; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the ERA was passed by Congress in 1972 and ratified by 35 of the 38 <br />states necessary to put it into the Constitution, yet was assumed to have expired in 1982; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS , Congress can alter time limits in the proposing clauses of amendments, <br />and the deadline for the ERA appeared only in the preamble as opposed to the actual <br />legislation; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the State of Nevada became the 36th state to approve the ERA in 2017; <br />and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, Senator Floyd B. McKissick, Jr. and Representative Carla Cunningham <br />introduced ERA ratification bills in the NC General Assembly in the 2017 long session, with <br />Senator Mike Woodard co-sponsoring the Senate bill and Representative Henry M. Michaux <br />co-sponsoring the House bill; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, US Representative David Price, Representative Alma Adams, and <br />Representative G.K. Butterfield have previously co-sponsored bills in Congress to adopt an <br />ERA, and to lift the time limits on states for ratifying the ERA; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution regarding the <br />Equal Rights Amendment on November 15, 2016 with language similar to that appearing <br />below; <br /> <br />NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Orange County Board of County <br />Commissioners calls on the US Congress to pass into law a bill to adopt an Equal Rights <br />Amendment, or to remove the time limit for ratification of the ERA so that ratification shall be <br />achieved upon the affirmative vote of 38 states, of which 36 already have ratified; and <br /> <br />BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Orange County Board of County <br />Commissioners calls on the NC General Assembly to pass into law a bill to ratify the Equal <br />Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution as proposed by Congress on March 22, <br />1972. <br /> <br /> <br />This the 20th day of March 2018. <br /> <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Price to <br />approve the resolution. <br /> <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS