Thread by @ashtonpittman

NEW: Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi's first woman senator, claims the ERA is "divisive" & threatens women's rights.

The ERA says: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” mississippifreepress.org/11099/sen-cind…

“Democrats need a new reason to defend their radical efforts to destroy innocent lives—& they are hiding that cause under the guise of women’s rights,” Sen. Hyde-Smith wrote.

She thinks Dems will use it to expand abortion rights & trans rights. mississippifreepress.org/11099/sen-cind…

"Enacting the ERA could actually harm the protections that celebrate the differences between men & women in law–threatening women-only prisons, locker rooms, & Title IX protections for women’s sports, just to name a few," MS's first woman senator says. mississippifreepress.org/11099/sen-cind…

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith's claim that the ERA is an attack on women's rights comes two weeks after she claimed that a new voting rights bill would "undermine" women's voting rights and the work of suffragettes.
mississippifreepress.org/10745/an-insul…

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith: "Women are protected from discrimination under the law through the 14th Amendment...which says no state shall deny any person within its jurisdiction equal protection under the law. That’s pretty strong—and pretty clear as well."
mississippifreepress.org/11099/sen-cind…

The 14th Amendment became law in 1868. But:
-women didn't gain the right to vote until 52 years after
-sex-based wages, employment & education discrimination remained legal for ~100 or more years afterward.
mississippifreepress.org/11099/sen-cind…

President Biden: “When Congress first sent the #ERA to the states for ratification, I was a 29-year-old first-time Senate candidate. ... [F]ighting for the ERA was about fighting for the dignity of women and the dignity of our nation.” mississippifreepress.org/11099/sen-cind…