Thread by @HMAesq

The @vahousegop just killed the floor vote, and hence the #ERA, blocking Virginia from becoming the 38th and final state to ratify it and make gender equality part of the US Constitution.

166 million women are affected by the VA GOP's action this morning.

(Thread)

I spoke to a voter yesterday who told me, "We keep voting against people, but we never vote for the people."

His words will stick with me. If an elected official can't act in the interest of 50.8% of the population, that official is not acting for the people.

Here in Virginia, we've gotten it wrong for a long time.

We got it wrong on the Civil War.
We got it wrong on segregation.
We got it wrong on suffrage.
We got it wrong on interracial marriage.
We got it wrong on disallowing women into VMI.
Today, we got it wrong again on #ERA.

This same voter yesterday also told me, "If we don't learn from the mistakes of the past, we'll keep repeating them."

That is abundantly clear today.

The VA GOP thought a resolution declaring all Virginians already enjoy equal protection under the law would be sufficient.

News flash: They don't.

We're trying to amend the Constitution, not issue a press release.

Because our Constitution does not guarantee equality on the basis of sex, we've had to fight these inequalities one at a time. Which is kind of like cutting the leaves off a weed while leaving its roots intact.

The Republican resolution was nothing but a piece of propaganda. It does no one any good. I can't cite to it in a brief arguing discriminatory impact. Positing that women already enjoy quality is an insult to our collective intelligence.

#RememberInNovember
#ERANow