The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), SJRCA 75, has reared its ugly head once again in Illinois and your state representative needs to hear from you right away.

The Illinois General Assembly voted down the ERA thirteen times in the 70’s and 80’s. Since then, the sponsor files the bill and works the legislature to gather additional support. The support is too close for comfort.

Take ACTION: Please CLICK HERE to contact your state representative to ask him/her to vote AGAINST the ERA, SJRCA 75. It’s essential for us to let our state representatives know that this amendment harms women, their families and our society.

Your calls and emails are vital tools for fighting this outrageous proposal. You can also call your state representative to ask him/her to vote NO to SJRCA 75 by calling the Capitol switchboard number at: (217) 782-2000.

No one is opposed to “equal rights,” but the ERA is not about “equal rights” as proponents want you to believe. The ERA will remove all legal distinctions between sexes in at least 800 federal laws. This is according to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her report titled Sex Bias in the U.S. Code.  (For more information please click HERE.)

In other words, all federal, state and local laws, policies and regulations favoring women would be ruled unconstitutional under ERA. Laws including marriage, divorce, family-property law, child custody, adoptions, abortions, alimony, some criminal laws, age limits for marriage and the age of consent, gender specific bathrooms, single-sex private schools, prison regulations, lower insurance rates for women, veterans benefits, boy and girl scouts, and tax exemptions for single-sex schools are just a few laws that would be challenged if the ERA is passed.

SJRCA 75 passed the State Senate on May 22^nd, 2014, with a vote of 39 – 11 – 6.  State Representative Lou Lang (D-Skokie), the sponsor in the Illinois House, may call it for a vote as early as Wednesday.  He claims he’s very close to having the votes.

This lame duck veto session is scheduled to run through Thursday December 4^th. Please take a few minutes to make a call or send an email message to your state representative today to urge a NO vote on ERA.

Today many Americans are celebrating Giving Tuesday, a national event calling Americans to take action to better the lives of others.  This is a great way for us to celebrate the work and ministry of Illinois Family Institute. On this national day of giving, would you be willing to make your most generous tax-deductible contribution? Please donate to IFI today – on National Giving Tuesday..