National Right to Life letter to Senate Majority Leader Schumer suggests March 22 as date for "show-vote on the political simulation of the 

Equal Rights Amendment"

Tobias said the date "would be appropriate, since the date will mark the 44th anniversary of the day that the real Equal Rights Amendment irrevocably expired-- a real event that has been followed by seemingly endless displays of political performance art, of which the upcoming vote... will be yet another."

The letter in PDF format can be viewed or downloaded here.

Schumer promised pro-ERA advocacy groups that he would seek a vote before April on S.J. Res. 4, a joint resolution that purports to insert the long-expired 1972 Equal Rights Amendment into the U.S. Constitution, ostensibly setting aside both the ratification deadline (although upheld by multiple federal courts) and rescissions by four state legislatures prior to the deadline.

On February 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously rejected a lawsuit seeking judicial recognition of the ERA as having been ratified. In her letter, Tobias said that pro-ERA litigants have approached six federal courts with their legal claims over a period of decades and "been rejected in every case and by every judge-- but the show must go on, right?"

For more of the back-story on the longest-running political show in current production, contact the NRLC Media Relations Department at 202-626-8825 or mediarelations@nrlc.org.