BRAYDEN ZENKER
N.D. Newspaper Association
Nearly half a century after North Dakota ratified the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, debate continues in the Legislature over the amendment and whether the stateâs ratification stands.
âERA would forever make it illegal to extend benefits, privileges or exemptions to women. ERA, in fact, would do nothing for women,â Rose Christensen told the Senate Government and Veterans Affairs Committee recently. âThe ERA should more properly be considered unisex legislation.â
But Kristie Wolff, executive director of North Dakota Womenâs Network, told the committee that the amendment âisnât just about women.â Rather, âthe ERAâs guarantee of equal rights would protect both women and men against sex discrimination under the law.â
The North Dakota Legislature has finished work on bills in its respective chambers, and when the session resumes Wednesday after a recess, lawmakers will be faced with hundreds more measures