WHY WE NEED THE ERA, Tara Laxer, Regional Dir, SE Florida

HOORAY, WE HAVE SOMEONE WRITING FOR OUR BLOG !
...and it's our own Tara Laxer in Broward County !

Tara has teased out of our list of past ERA bill co-sponsors (We've had ERA bills filed EVERY YEAR since 2003, but the Florida House refuses even to hear it, even to give it a fair hearing for the public, even to vote it up or down. We suspect it's because they know, once heard, the bills will pass!)

HAVE AT IT, EVERYONE, HERE'S A LIST OF THOSE FLORIDA STATE LEGISLATORS WHO HAVE NEVER, EVER COSPONSORED AN ERA BILL HERE IN FLORIDA though they get full info every year. We even go to the trouble of speaking before them at Legislative Delegation meetings IN EVERY SINGLE OF THE 67 COUNTIES! FIND YOUR OWN LEGISLATOR AND CALL HIM/HER FOR AN APPOINTMENT TO FIND OUT why they are against equality for all Americans, male and female alike! Write me for the answer, SandyO@passERA.org. List follows.

STATE REPS AND STATE SENATORS THAT NEVER SUPPORTED THE ERA!

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by Tara Laxer (notes) Wednesday at 6:03pm

*THE NAMES (Current FL Senators & House Members Who Have NEVER Sponsored ERA Bills)

*Over the past eight legislative sessions, bills to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment have been filed in the Florida Legislature. *No House Committee has ever heard the bill – it has not been discussed, work-shopped or discussed on the floor in any shape or form. And only in 2003 and 2008 were the bills heard in Senate, when they passed positively out of the Judiciary Committee.* Legislative leadership seems to want to shield members from voting on the issue rather than forward women’s rights. *But as far as Florida women are concerned no vote is a vote against equal rights for women!* It is very important that during the 2010 election season voters are aware of which legislators of both houses have NEVER co-sponsored an ERA bill during their time in Tallahassee. *Here are THE NAMES WHO HAVE VOTED AGAINST ERA by their silence, have refused to co-sponsor after years of our lobbying them-- please post this information to others via email and also use on any literature that may serve to educate the voting public as to where a candidate stands on women’s rights: **

FLORIDA SENATE: *JD Alexander, Thad Altman , Jeff Atwater, Carey Baker, Lee Constantine, Victor D. Christ, "Charlie" Dean, Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Paula Dockery, (Mike Fasano, Don Gaetz; BUT BOTH OF THESE DID VOTE FOR IT RECENTLY!) Rudy Garcia, Andy Gardiner, Mike Haridopolos, Joe Negron (Chair 2010 #1 Committee), Steve Oelrich, Durell Peaden Jr, Garrett S. Richter, Ronda Storms (SHE HATES ERA), John Thrasher, Alex J. Villalobos (Chaired Judiciary Committee both times bill heard in Senate, and so HE VOTED FOR IT TWICE!), Stephen R. Wise.*

FLORIDA HOUSE: *"Sandy" Adams, Janet H. Adkins, Kevin C. Ambler, "Tom" Anderson, Gary Aubuchon, Leonard L. Bembry, "Mack" Bernard, Ellyn Setnor Bogdanoff, Esteban L. Bovo Jr, Debbie Boyd, Rachel V. Burgin, James Bush III, Dean Cannon, Jennifer Carroll, "Chuck" Chestnut IV, "Gwyn" Clarke-Reed, Marti Coley, Larry Cretul, Steve Crisafulli, Janet Cruz (elected mid-term), Carl J. Domino (Chair 2101 #1 Committee), Chris Dorworth, Brad Drake, Eric Eisnaugle, Greg Evers, Anitere Flores (SHE'S WORRIED THAT IT WILL FOSTER ABORTIONS! but ERA doesn't regulate that, nor same-sex anything!), Clay Ford, Erik Fresen, "Jim" Frishe (HARD RIGHTIST!), Matt Gaetz, Bill Galvano, "Rich" Glorioso, "Eddy" Gonzalez, Tom Grady, Denise Grimsley, Adam Hasner, Alan D. Hayes, Doug Holder, Ed Hooper (REFUSES ME), Mike Horner, Matt Hudson, Dorothy L. Hukill, Kurt Kelly, Paige Kreegel, John Legg, Marcelo Llorente, Debbie Mayfield, Charles McBurney, Seth McKeel, Dave Murzin, Bryan Nelson, Marlene H. O'Toole, Jimmy Patronis, Pat Patterson, Scott Plakon, Ralph Poppell, Stephen L. Precourt, "Bill" Proctor, Lake Ray, Ron Reagan, Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda (ANOTHER WHO BELIEVES ERA = ABORTION!), "Doc" Renuart, "Ken" Roberson, Maria Lorts Sachs, "Rob" Schenck, Ron Schultz, William D. Snyder, Kelli Stargel, Dwayne L. Taylor, "Nick" Thompson, Perry E. Thurston, John Tobia, Baxter G. Troutman, Charles E. Van Zant, Will W. Weatherford, "Mike" Weinstein, Trudi K. Williams, John Wood, Ritch Workman.

Updated on Wednesday · Comment ·

Tara Laxer

I am for fair districts but things they way they are ...if we can't do more than one thing at one time we are in trouble. I think equal rights in the law is a pressing issue. Regardless if it comes from gender rights from the ERA, privacy rights with the ultrasound bill that the Governor is waiting on because of politics or the current repeal of ... See MoreDADT.
Equality is a right.

It is necessary to have specific language in the Constitution affirming the principle of equal rights on the basis of sex because for more than two centuries, women have had to fight long and hard political battles to win rights that men (at first certain white men, eventually all men) possessed automatically because they were male. The first – and still the only – right that the Constitution specifically affirms equally for women and men is the right to vote. Alice Paul introduced the ERA in 1923 to expand that affirmation to all the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

Yesterday at 10:10pm

Sandy Oestreich

GREAT JOB, TARA (FL ERA Inc's Regional Director!)

To Meta C: Neither the 14th Amendment, Laws nor the FL constitution's ERA clause do the job the ERA would. Needed today more than ever (almost 3/4 of the States have already ratified, we just need 3 more to put ERA in Constituiton (for men as well as women). Simply, you know if you are not ... See Morementioned in a contract, you have no rights therein--women are not mentioned in the nation's contract with its people!! The only incontestable right we have there is THE RIGHT TO VOTE, and we had to be jailed, hung, beaten and forcefed to get that, a full 50 yrs after all MEN received it, no sweat. Please see my site as ERA spearhead of FL ERA before the legislature: www.ratifyERAflorida.net. Click on ERA for Women to see some of how we are beset with inequities that ERA would correct, e.g., we lose sex discrimination cases because we don't have an ERA; we lose on avg $22 for every $100 a man is paid for same job! It takes us until April each year to accrue the same earnings a man sitting next to us was paid by December 31, the year before. This means 1 of 7 elderly women are in poverty from lower SocSec and pensions and savings~! What do you think the pending Paycheck Fairness Act is about or the Lilly Ledbetter Sup. Ct. case was about??The glass ceiling; paid quality day care. Generally, we are denied men's rights to full personhood and self-determination. Men would not lose as many child custody cases in divorce; also issues of the draft, immigration, consensual teen sex, etc. Please see my site for ERA for Men, ERA for Moms, ERA en Espanol, etc.

I think Fair Districting is MUCH IMPORTANT, TOO..am door to door on that one, too. Just that when I see "all nations since wwII have an ERA (Ruth Bader Ginsburg), I want to SCREAAAAMM AT THE UNFAIRNESS.
If Tara and I haven't ans. your questions, please see our ERA site, and then email me.

It's ok. Funny, I had the same questions you do at first, and I had marched in the ERA protests in the 70s!! Sandy Oestreich, Pres/Founder of Equal Rights Alliance, Inc., of FL; Prof Emerita; Coauthor, internationally distrib. pharmacology reference texts; nurse practitioner, Chief Agitator for ERA

43 seconds ago ·

THANK YOU, TARA !!

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