Whereas members of Zonta
Club of Sanibel Captiva and Zonta International are dedicated to improving the
legal, political, economic, educational, health, and professional status of
women and to eradicating violence against women, and ensuring the equality of
women in all areas of life through community and international service;
Whereas most citizens
believe in equality for men and women and assume that the Constitution
guarantees women full and equal citizenship, however;
Whereas American women were
not included as full and equal citizens in the original United States
Constitution, and today the right to vote (granted by the 19th Amendment in
1920) is the only right that the Constitution specifically affirms as equal for
women and men;
Whereas the 14th Amendment's
equal protection clause has never been consistently interpreted to grant equal
rights on the basis of sex;
Whereas, despite the passage of numerous
anti-discrimination laws and their extension to address discrimination based on
sex, differing state laws and court decisions have created an inconsistent and
confusing pattern of women's rights across the nation so that women as a class
are not assured of fair legal treatment;
Whereas state and federal
laws do not have the same moral or legal force as a federal constitutional
guarantee;
Whereas the constitutions of
many other nations specifically affirm the legal equality of men and women and
the United States government has insisted that such nations as Afghanistan and
Iraq include statements affirming women's legal equality in their new
constitutions;
Now therefore, be it
resolved that Zonta Club of Sanibel Captiva is on record as supporting the
ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, to wit:
Sec. 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.
And therefore be it resolved
that Zonta Club of Sanibel Captiva strongly urges the members of the Florida
Legislature to vote for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and thereby
ensure that American women will henceforth be guaranteed full and equal
citizenship.
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