Thread by @AthenaSalman

Midterm elections were a year ago today.

While I dreamed of Arizona being the 38th state to #RatifyERA, Virginia is poised to become the final state.

The difference? A democratic majority in the state legislature.
(THREAD 1/15)

https://twitter.com/athenasalman/status/1058048693293576192

In 2017, we thought that with the addition of Rep. @DrGerae, there would be a possibility for the #ERA to at least get a committee hearing since Arizona was FIRST in the country in female representation in the legislature at the time. /2
azcentral.com/story/news/pol…

Gov. @dougducey spent a significant portion of the SOS highlighting the accomplishments of AZ female trailblazers, but notably left out the #EqualRightsAmendment.

To do so felt like an attempt to gloss over the rampant sexual harassment at #azleg. /3
phoenixnewtimes.com/news/takeaways…

The Speaker, who is now a Senator, assigned #ERA to Judiciary where he knew it would die.

When @erataskforceaz asked in a hearing why the bill wasn’t being agendized, the Chairman threatened, “You ask another question, I’m going to clear this room." /4
azcentral.com/story/opinion/…

Once it was clear that #ERA wasn’t going to get a hearing, we motioned for a floor vote on #EqualPayDay.

Rep. @P2Hannley told fellow lawmakers, “Let’s make history. There is no time limit on equality."

Instead, the Republicans killed the motion. /5
amp.azcentral.com/amp/504763002

In the midterm election, the @AZHouseDems picked up four new seats, becoming the largest democratic caucus since 1966 with a 29D-31R split.

It was believed that #azleg would become more moderate. Activists began seeking a pathway to pass the #ERA. /6
azcentral.com/story/news/pol…

Since every democrat supports gender equality, activists lobbied republicans and for a brief moment held a majority in favor of the #ERA in the Senate.

Yet, after pressure from powerful conservatives, one republican withdrew his support from the bill. /7
azcapitoltimes.com/news/2019/02/2…

Realizing there were limited options left, @erataskforceaz organized the 38 Mile March for the ERA that highlighted at every mile the need for equal rights for women.

The demonstration went on to win awards, but still the republicans blocked the #ERA. /8
amp.azcentral.com/amp/3146269002

I even received a homemade pastry that day with a message urging me to kill the #ERA.

It was disturbing to see the opposing side pay homepage to a time when women’s freedom were restricted, from the property they could own to the employment they could seek. /9

@AZHouseDems tried for a vote one more time in April.

"This year, the #ERA didn't even get assigned to committee. The majority party has literally taken women a step backwards in the process,” I said.

Unsurprisingly, the motion failed on party lines. /10
phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-d…

It’s not simply “men” who are blocking the passage of the ERA. In fact, just like Phyllis Schlafly in the 1970s, there are women today in AZ like Senate Pres. Karen Fann & Cathi Herrod who have actively worked to block equality for 171 million women in the US. /11

While a tiny slither of Republicans may support Equal Rights Amendment, the Party removed support from its platform in 1980.

Conservative opposition to equal rights has grown over the last 40 years as I have seen firsthand in my time at the capitol. /12
equalrightsamendment.org/the-equal-righ…

When Nevada’s legislature flipped from red to blue in 2016, the democratic majority wasted no time in making history. They passed the #ERA, becoming the first to do so in my lifetime. /13
npr.org/sections/thetw…

And now, with the Democrats taking control of the legislature in Virginia, it is likely that they will follow in Nevada’s suit and be the final state needed to ratify the #EqualRightsAmendment. /14
vox.com/policy-and-pol…

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, “I would like my granddaughters when they pick up the Constitution, to see that notion — that women & men are persons of equal stature — I’d like them to see that is a basic principle of our society.”

We deserve nothing less. /END