Women’s Rights Advocates Seek Support for ERA Petition Drive
Former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Director of Columbia Law School’s ERA Project Ting Ting Cheng were among the speakers at a recent event to galvanize a new push for the approval of the Equal Rights Amendment.
| 18 Jul 2023 | 01:40
Former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney leads a crowd of advocates for the Equal Rights Amendment who gathered at the NASDAQ exchange to ring the closing bell. (
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Asia Khan, student founder of the Sign4ERA petition, speaks at a press conference.
Women’s rights leaders gathered in Times Square on July 14 to ring the NASDAQ closing bell in an effort to revive interest in the stalled endeavor to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.
While the ERA cleared all requirements of Article V in the Constitution—passage through the House and Senate, in addition to ratification by 38 states — it did not do so until Virginia's ratification of the amendment in 2020, 38 years past the deadline.
While opponents of the ERA argue that Congress’ original 1982 deadline is long gone, ERA advocates suggest that several amendments have been ratified without following textbook procedures.
At the NASDAQ event, attendees wore white in honor of the suffrage movement, and former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney opened the press conference.
Ting Ting Cheng, Director of Columbia Law School’s ERA Project, called pushback against the amendment “discrimination, pure and simple.” Cheng pointed out that without the “permanent protection” afforded by the constitution, women’s rights would perpetually be subjected to political caprice.
“For decades, women have fought for equal rights under the law, and the ERA was designed to enshrine those rights in the constitution,” added Asia Khan, student founder of the Sign4ERA petition and Hunter College attendee.