Circle almost complete

The Prince George Democratic Committee adopted a resolution in support of the Fair Pay Act and the Equal Rights Amendment on December 6th. The Democratic Party of Virginia adopted a similar resolution on December 8th. The Prince George Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution in support of Ratification of the ERA on December 11.

Feels like a drum roll doesn’t it?

The important thing is that all three adoptions were unanimous!

In Prince George County it was SupervisorFloyd Brown, Jr. of District 1, who navigated getting the resolution on the agenda and carefully building bipartisan support for this nonpartisan resolution. Tammie Miller Jennings, a published author and activist, as well as a Prince George County resident, provided the history and rationale for support of the ERA to Supervisor Brown. That background must have been compelling.

A Prince George citizen spoke against the resolution during the comment period, positing that the resolution was not “germane” in that it had nothing to do with governance duties in Prince George County. Fortunately, his opinion was not persuasive. The resolution passed unanimously, including a ‘yes’ vote from the vocal opponent’s grandmother, Supervisor Marlene Waymack, who is on the far right in the header picture.

The drum roll continues as similar resolutions are being considered by localities and organizations across the Commonwealth. The final roll will be when the Equal Rights Amendment comes up for a floor vote by the 2019 Virginia General Assembly. If Virginia ratifies the Equal Rights Amendment, it will be the 38th state ratification of the ERA. With this ratification the #ERA will be on the path to become the 28th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, to-wit:

Equal Rights Amendment

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification