***MEDIA ADVISORY***

Equal Rights Amendment to Receive Legislative Hearing

Jefferson City —A legislative hearing on Senate Concurrent Resolution 41, sponsored by State Sen. Jill Schupp, D – Creve Coeur, which would have Missouri ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution, will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 9:00 a.m. in the Senate Lounge of the Missouri State Capitol.

“It’s 2018 and it’s time America’s Constitution fully reflects America’s values,” said Sen. Schupp. “As citizens of the greatest nation on Earth, we should hold this truth as self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.”

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was sponsored by a Republican Congressman and passed by Congress in 1972, after which it was sent to the states for ratification. Last year, Nevada passed legislation ratifying the ERA, leaving only two states needed for full ratification. If Missouri ratifies the ERA, only one more state would be needed.

The Equal Rights Amendment would guarantee that equality of rights not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Currently, the only right which is specifically affirmed for both women and men is the right to vote.

Absent the ERA in the United States Constitution, the equal protection clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment falls short of explicitly guaranteeing that American men and American women have equal rights.

Tuesday, Feb. 20

WHO:              Senator Jill Schupp

                          Senate Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee

WHAT:            Legislative hearing on ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment

WHEN:            9:00 a.m.

WHERE:          Senate Lounge

Missouri Capitol

Jefferson City, MO

For more information on Sen. Schupp’s legislation, visit her official Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/schupp.

Contact: Jill Kline – (573) 751-9762