LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass today became the first Big City Mayor of California to sign the national petition in support of the Equal Right Amendment (ERA), a constitutional amendment to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sex. Mayor Bass signed the petition alongside former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney as well as City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, co-founder and President of the Feminist Majority Foundation Eleanor Smeal, and Executive Director of the Feminist Majority Foundation Kathy Spillar. The ERA underscores three key issues of reproductive health and rights, gender-based violence and economic fairness.
“We need an Equal Rights Amendment now more than ever,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “Our very rights as women are on the table, and we need to work relentlessly to ensure that they are protected. Thank you to my friend and former colleague Congresswoman Maloney for all of your work championing this Amendment, and thank you to Dolores and to our City Attorney for joining me in this signing. Today we make a call to action for people across the country to join us in this important movement.”
“Thank you, Mayor Bass, for your leadership and taking this critical step for Los Angeles in spotlighting the ERA petition. My very first political act at 17 years old, before I could even register to vote, was making calls to communities urging them to get involved and support ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment,” said Los Angeles City Attorney, Hydee Feldstein Soto. “It is long past time for Congress to take action and have the ERA added to the constitution, once and for all.”
“Thank you all so much for helping me build the ERA Petition drive,” said former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. “As Mayor Bass knows over our many years in Congress together, I worked very closely across the aisle with Republicans and Democrats to advance rights for women through legislative efforts many deemed impossible. Thank you Mayor Bass for today's event and thank you for doing so much for women and girls and being among the first mayors to sign a pledge to bring the ERA petition to the people to show the massive support that we have for equality of opportunity and rights.”
“Thank you very much Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and I want to thank our Mayor Bass for leading this fight for the Equal Rights Amendment with the mayors throughout the United State of America,” said civil rights leader Dolores Huerta. “Yes – it is time for the Equal Rights Amendment to finally be put in the Constitution of the United States of America. We will make that history. We will have the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.”
"The Equal Rights Amendment is needed now more than ever,” said President of the Feminist Majority Foundation Eleanor Smeal. “We were just told by the Supreme Court that there is no basis, no foundation, no building brick in the Constitution that covers sex discrimination. We believe that a majority of Mayors are going to come out and are so proud of Mayor Bass for leading the way."
“Thank you Mayor Bass, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney – we are thrilled to be a part of today for this important event," said Executive Director of Feminist Majority Foundation Kathy Spillar. “We are pushing like there’s no tomorrow working on this crucial issue.”
Mayor Bass is the first woman and second African American to serve as Mayor of Los Angeles. Sign4ERA is a grassroots campaign to move Congress to ratify ERA as the 28th Amendment and is endorsed by more than 40 organizations, including the ERA Coalition, civil rights and human rights groups, mayors, and campus, religious, and civic groups. The petition drive was launched by Hunter College students and ERA activists at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute in New York City. Nearly 100,000 have joined Sign4ERA since. Sign4ERA’s ultimate goal is to reach 1 million signatures, following plans to expand its social media presence and engage supporters through a variety of community events.