Transcripts For CSPAN2 Washington Journal Carol Jenkins 2024

CSPAN2 Washington Journal Carol Jenkins July 13, 2024

In our constitution. The constitution needs to be fixed one more time. Its been amended 27 times. The era would be the 28th amendment and it would effectively say that you cannot prohibit it would would, in, put into the constitution prohibiting discrimination by sex, which is a major advancement in our constitution as Justice Scalia has said. Does that as it exists now prohibit discrimination so thats why we needed. The effect of it would be to put women in the constitution. Because as it was written in its inception it did not include women. Women were deliberately leftme out. Yesterday we had a future date in the w house of representativ. The delegates, the representatives passed a bill by Jackie Speier from california that would dissolve the time limit that was imposed on the era bill when it was passed by congress in 1972. Where we are now with the equal rights amendment, originally proposed by owl is a ball in 1923, so weve been working on this for almost 100 years. 50 years since Congress Passed it by twothirds of the representatives, and now just as of a couple of weeks ago ratified by 38 states across the country. What has happened is that after a long time what people consider stalling or no visible action with tremendous action. We have, in fact, met the requirement outlined in the constitution in article v for amending the constitution. We have twothirdss vote, the 38 states, so the next step is just to certify it by the archivist and make it happen. That would give millions of girls and women in this country rights and privileges that they do not have to trim and you pointed out the passage in u. S. House of the measure extending the time fun. Usais a headline in today. The house breathes life into the equal rights amendment but it faces the challenge in the u. S. Senate. Has to pass the senate, correct . Guest it does indeed. I do wantes to say its not a matter of extending the deadline. Its a matter of dissolving, remove m it completely a time limit that was imposed. We dont use the word deadline because it was never in the amendment itself that the states voted on. It was a joint resolution or the introduction, what some call the preamble. It was nothing the state voted on and so we believe it can be and should be removed. And yes, it does have to go to the senate and we have a built there. The housesenateav right over to the senators have bipartisan bill thatt already has 44 cosponsors, and we hope you will be moving forward in the u. S. Senate. Host tell us about the state level. The state of virginia has passed the era but havent a number states also in turn rescinded their previous passage of the era . Guest i think they have indicated that they would like to, but our legal task force doesnt believe that will work, that they have the right to. It simply a matter of you cannot have successive legislative bodies undoing what earlier bodies have done. It would just bring chaos into everything we try to do in the country legally. But there is obviously a lot to be determined as we move forward in trying to get the amendment totally accepted, place as a 28th amendment to the constitution. Host Carol Jenkins is a guest joining us from new york talking about the equal rights amendment, the effort to pass it certainly successful, the measure that passed in the house yesterday and a challenge ahead and u. S. Senate as you mentioned moments ago. We welcome your calls and comments. We will get to your calls in a a moment. I did want to 2 play the commens of Justice Ruth Bader ginsburg and 80 that we covered in washington, some of the coverage of that from fox, just dealt a fatal blow to the equal rights amendment. Her comments were used in that floor debate in the house yesterday. Heres what the justice said. There is a distinction between equal protection clause and then having an actual amendment that lays it out. Years ago i was involved in some litigation involving the extension of a deadline on the rights amendment and would recently had virginia passing equal rights committed. Soir leaving aside whether any deadlines could be extended, whats your prognosis on when we will get an equal rights amendment on the federal level . I t would like to see a new beginning, start over. Theres too much controversy about latecomers long after the deadline passed, plus a number of states have withdrawn the ratification. So if you count a late comer on the plus side how can you disregard states that said weve changed . Host what you think when you heard her say id like to see a a new beginning . Guest well, that time they couldve it little bit better. It doesnt come as a complete surprise to us because she actually has said that before. What we do know is she is a fervent supporter of the equal rights amendment, and what we believe is we can start over. We support every session, Carolyn Maloney bill to do exactly that. It has enough cosponsors to go to the floor and to be acted on. While we have this other activity that weve been working on, this Amendment Bill that weve been working for almost 100 years, we do not want to dishonor the work of 100 years, 50 years for some people who are still with us. Alice ball from 1923. So we are prepared to complete this movement to xfinity we believe we can get this amendment ratified and placed on the constitution. If we dont, come where compled want to start all over again. So we dont scare that easily. We understand, we get it, but yesterday, for instance, in the house of representatives, we were in the gallery, i took my 10yearoldyearold granddaughter with me who has been working on the era since she was seven. I wanted her to see the good results of the work that she did in accompanying me to representatives offices trying to get them to support, to be cosponsors for the amendment. Of this bill to remove the deadline. I have a photograph of her sitting next to has been working on this for 50 years, founder of the feminist majority, the two of them to the conversation they were having was that if we succeed now in this effort, her 50 years would surpass a varese so for three years. But if we dont and if you have to start all s over again, it is entirely possible that our legacy will be 50 50 or 60 yean the future of trying to do that because remember, its gettina twothirds agreement in congress and getting 38 states. Thats a tough i order we can do it if we have to start all over again. I would rather honor her 50 years of whichat is put in at rather than task my granddaughter to get these kinds of rights4girls in our country. Do we really have to wait another two or three or four generations before girls have the same rights as men, boys, in this country . Host , we have a number of calls waiting. Gretchen in new york first. Good morning. Caller good morning. I was so happy. I watched it on cspan yesterday. I admit allie smeal in the 70s. I been working as long as her but i saw that movie on hbo about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, andnd she made the comment that the word woman is not used one time in the constitution. So ladies, were going to do it. Were doing it and thank you so much. You made my day. Guest great. Thank you for calling in. Yes, we will do it hopefully now but we are determined to get this done. Thank you for your work. Host california, democrats line, go ahead. Caller hello. Have you read [inaudible] host we didnt catch the headline. Go ahead. Caller i said have you read the brilliant Matilda Joslyn gage . Guest i know of her work. [inaudible] she was a personal secretary. Guest right, right. Is that a favorite source of yours . I know of her work. I have not read or i do know people who are working on her legacy, which is extremely important trend what is your comment on that . Caller she was a brilliant writer, and like Ruth Bader Ginsburg sometimes you have to change the words of what youre trying to get to because if you cant say what you mean, you cant mean what you say and you cant get what you want. And i think women dont want equality. They want equivalent rights as men. They see men are of the women working in a different category as them doing the same work they do and getting paid significantly less because you are not in the same category. But the people right next to them, the men right next to them is making equal pay as they do but they are not getting the equal pay as the people in different category. If theyre doing equivalent work you should get equivalent pay. Host well will get a resp. Carol jenkins . Guest wee. Agree. So i think so much of the Research Demonstrates that women, the way we say are the cheap labor of our country and that is result in magnificent proselyte for some of the corporations and even small companies. There consistently underpaid for the same equipment, for the same work. Even some of the good guys who think and say great things about equal pay and if our support of the art of women with action go and look at their books, they discovered they are truly paying the women less than the pay them into these are the good guys. We recently had major corporations call press converses and had releases saying guess what we can now say without any quibbling that we pay the women what with our men. Of course we had to make adjustments to do that, and that means cost them billions ofus dollars to do that. But i think its one of the things that will change america. America, we think of it as this great democracy and its one of the great ones, but it does not treat its women well. It will not until women are in the constitution. We tried Everything Else. We tried the pipeline. We spent trillions of dollars trying to equal thinks up and it hasnt worked because women are still the poor of our country, the underpaid, underemployed. The only thing that is going to change that we believe is era. Host lets go to michael, fayette alabama. Caller good morning. This is my first time calling cspann in several months, so please forgive me if i sound nervous. Ms. Jenkins, before i ask my question, let me as a born again saved christian let me apologize thoroughly for all those white males out there, some black ministers, who say they love women so much but but in opposg not only era also some of the radical ones such things as email governors, they constantlyte quote, say they loe women. They constantly quote first corinthians chapter 11, first timothy chapter two and first peter chapter three, all of which i mean, they interpret these literally for the 20s, 21st century i want to apologize about that. My concern, however, is it with a im a political liberal when it comes too washington this policy, gun owners responsibilities and Foreign Policy based on human rights, i am a little concerned about wonder whether not conservative conservatives, religious conservatives are correct about possible side effects if the era were passed come such things as people filing, who want unisex bathrooms, samesex bathrooms, filing lawsuits or like one incident, i think in the state of oregon, claiming male cross dressers leading children in storytime at a public library. Would you address those concerns for undecided American Voters . Thanks soo much. I will hang up and listen. Guest thank you so much for your call today. You raised some very important issues. We do want to say that we literally respect personal beliefs, those of us working for the equal rights amendment. None of us want that to interfere with anyones private personal beliefs. The equal rights amendment essentially is about giving girls and women equality, and that is what we are working for. I know about all of the site issues that are brought up, but this is not the forum we believe to decide and debate and even debate those personal beliefs. This is a question about constitutional equality. Do you believe women should have equal rights in this country . Thats a very straightforward question that really can be answered yes or no. If youou do, then the equal rigs and then is the way forward for you. If you dont, then object. We disagree with people on all kinds of things and we respect the disagreement, the ability to. But if you believe in equality for women, and most americans do, our research has demonstrated that 94 of all americans do want constitutional equality for women. 99 of theme millennials, the young people want equality for women. There are people out there who would say no, we dont. But in 2020 we consider that to be mystifying to us, but your right to believe that it is absolutely yours. I hope i answered some of your questions. Host back to the process again that passed in the house, the deadline, extending the deadline edification, removing that deadline, going on to the senate now. Say it does pass congress. A number of legal experts have cast doubt on whether that removal of that deadline can be applied retroactively. What could be ahead fory. The ea and the courts . A. Could this wind up being a Supreme Court decision . Guest yes, indeed it could. Many say most likely will. The archivist whose job it is, for all of the activity, legal activity we have had the route distance runs the era lately, this poor head library, im sure he never dreamed this would be a state that he would be sued alabama and two of the states and by the three ratifying states, and by people in massachusetts all kinds of lawsuits all aimed at the archivist either demanding that he not certify virginia and, therefore, complete the requirements and put make the era the 28th amendment, or that he do it. We have definitely entered the legal face of this, the court room face of it. The archivist has said that there is a department of justice memo which also declares the equal rights amendment dead. Fortunately for us, the executive branch has no authority in amending the constitution so it really is an opinion come as theyin say thisa memo and not anything that is solid inal terms of determining the outcome. Butf the archivist has said tht he will not do anything. Thats his boss, the department of justice. The archivist says he will not do anything until there is a final court order, and we assume that he means the Supreme Court. This likely could go to the Supreme Court and we are ready for that. Host we will hear from louisville, kentucky. Thanks for waiting. Caller thank you for taking my call. I would like to talk about what i was reading online this morning what happened in connecticut about two young men who identify as women that are competing against the women in a track and field event. If were wanting equal rights for women, the lady on your panel, she knows in her heart and anybody would know in their heart that women are not going to be able to compete against a biological male in in the spor. My daughter was a swimmer and ill get to do is look at the times, the competition times of the men against the women and you can see theres the way that women can compete if youre looking at sports across the board, how in the world can anyone say that women are being treated equally when they are allowing biological males to compete against them in the exact same sport . , we would get a response from Carol Jenkins. Thank you. Guest again we think thats a matter that is best decided in the courts and not having much to do with the equal rights amendment so that we have to separate all of the things that people may object to, but i think those things are handled best in the courts and i believe the Supreme Court is taking up cases that will resolve so much ofe the gender problems, controversy for us. Host how many states have made an equal rights amendment orde similar language part of their state constitution . Guest we think there are about 25 states, which is a hefty number. I think as this equal rights Amendment Movement continues, there will be more. We work with and ratified to states working on the federal level. We have a call every other week we get on the phone and talk about strategy. States share things that have worked and have not come with virginia is our store because they did s such a magnificent jb again on the federal level your new york statete is consideringn equal rights amendment that weve been working on as well, and that is slightly different. That is expanded exclusive era that would take into effect at f the groups have been left out, the disabled. It doesnt deal with race. With the gender. So that i think moving along new york state would be the first to do that kind of inclusive era, and the governor is now supporting that. The Senate Passed it 62zero the last session, and the assembly is about to take it up. I think as we move forward in this country wee will be looking at all kinds of constitutional inclusion that has created persistent problems for us, even though we have some laws that have worked very well for us we can look around at our country and know that there still discrimination, there is still a huge gap, wealth gap, all kinds of gaps in terms of opportunities in our country. One of the ways of fixing that is by amendment. Host will hear from palm springs california next. Bill on our democratics line. Guest good morning cspan and thank you very much, missed jenkins, and happy valentines day and big hugs all around. I was watching yesterday and what is it with the self summative white republicans . Why do they hate women . Why are they afraid of women . The divisiveness in this country, i happen to be gay, and we just, a a month and after jt past transgender remembrance day. Idea with a lot of people in palm springs, one of the gayest places on earth. Its like why cant we all just get along . The last segment talking aboutut the economy, the other night downtown, was a lady on the street in a wheelchair. She mustvee been 70 and homeless. I used to work, i work at the palm springs, one of the food banks here, and the senior center, 300 people a00 week week go through there forgo food. At our food bank of over 140 140 people are hurting. This economy is a mess. Its not benefiting anybody but the rich. Host we will let you go. Passable off the topic but thanks for calling in. Carol jenkins let me ask that pushback from the conservative eagle forum in a statement by the era. They say it will not give women any more rights than they currently have. Women already have claim to equal rights to the 14th 14th amendment section one as was rumors of the laws in virtually all areas of american life, employment including equal pay, education, credit eligible to come housing, public accommodations et cetera. The Supreme Court has already applied the 14th amendment to womens issues. That from the eagle forum. Guest yes, and there has been a great deal

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