| 1 | House Concurrent Resolution |
| 2 | A concurrent resolution ratifying the proposed amendment |
| 3 | to the Constitution of the United States relating to equal |
| 4 | rights for men and women. |
| 5 |
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| 6 | WHEREAS, the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced in |
| 7 | Congress in 1923 and was filed every session thereafter from |
| 8 | 1923 to 1972, and |
| 9 | WHEREAS, the Equal Rights Amendment was finally approved by |
| 10 | Congress in 1972 and sent to the states for ratification with a |
| 11 | 7-year deadline, and |
| 12 | WHEREAS, in 1978 Congress extended the original |
| 13 | ratification deadline for 3 more years, and |
| 14 | WHEREAS, Congress placed a deadline of June 30, 1982, on |
| 15 | the ratification process for the Equal Rights Amendment for men |
| 16 | and women and 35 states ratified the proposed amendment before |
| 17 | the deadline, and |
| 18 | WHEREAS, Congress submitted the Madison Amendment to the |
| 19 | states as part of the proposed Bill of Rights on September 25, |
| 20 | 1789, which relates to the timing of Congressional pay raises, |
| 21 | but it was not ratified until 203 years later in 1992, making it |
| 22 | the Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution |
| 23 | and establishing a precedent such that the Equal Rights |
| 24 | Amendment is sufficiently contemporaneous and therefore remains |
| 25 | viable, and |
| 26 | WHEREAS, in 1998 Florida voters, by a margin of 65 percent |
| 27 | to 35 percent, approved a similar amendment to the Florida |
| 28 | Constitution when they approved Revision 9, which added and |
| 29 | clarified that "all natural persons, female and male alike, are |
| 30 | equal before the law," therefore clearly indicating that |
| 31 | ratification of the federal Equal Rights Amendment would be |
| 32 | fully consistent with the will of the majority of voters in this |
| 33 | state, and |
| 34 | WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution allows |
| 35 | the Legislature of the State of Florida to ratify this proposed |
| 36 | amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and |
| 37 | WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Florida finds that |
| 38 | the Equal Rights Amendment for men and women is reasonable and |
| 39 | sufficiently contemporaneous and needed in the United States |
| 40 | Constitution because while women enjoy more rights today than |
| 41 | they did when the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced in |
| 42 | 1923 or when it passed out of Congress in 1972, hard-won laws |
| 43 | against gender discrimination do not rest on any unequivocal |
| 44 | constitutional foundation and the laws can be inconsistently |
| 45 | enforced or even repealed, and |
| 46 | WHEREAS, elements of gender discrimination remain in |
| 47 | statutory and case law, and courts have had difficulty applying |
| 48 | a consistent standard to gender classifications which are not |
| 49 | inherently suspect or comparable to racial or ethnic |
| 50 | classifications under equal-protection analysis, and |
| 51 | WHEREAS, the Equal Rights Amendment for men and women is |
| 52 | necessary in order to have a clear constitutional guarantee that |
| 53 | gender is considered a suspect classification and entitled to |
| 54 | the same strict scrutiny that courts reserve for race, religion, |
| 55 | and national origin, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 56 |
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| 57 | Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of |
| 58 | Florida, the Senate Concurring: |
| 59 |
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| 60 | That the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the |
| 61 | United States set forth below is ratified by the Legislature of |
| 62 | the State of Florida. |
| 63 | "Article ____ |
| 64 | "SECTION 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be |
| 65 | denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on |
| 66 | account of sex. |
| 67 | "SECTION 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, |
| 68 | by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. |
| 69 | "SECTION 3. This amendment shall take effect two years |
| 70 | after the date of ratification." |
| 71 | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that certified copies of the |
| 72 | foregoing preamble and resolution be immediately forwarded by |
| 73 | the Secretary of State of the State of Florida, under the great |
| 74 | seal, to the President of the United States, the Secretary of |
| 75 | State of the United States, the President of the Senate of the |
| 76 | United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of |
| 77 | the United States, and the Administrator of General Services of |
| 78 | the United States. |