Redwood City, CA (November 1, 2023)
We do not have equal rights in this country. One hundred years ago, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was proposed to the United States Constitution to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. It didn’t pass then and it still has not passed.
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Republican officials and judges have indicated they will roll back basic women’s and human rights even further. With attacks on women’s health and generational inequity cementing into our economic systems, it’s time to enshrine an updated version of the ERA to deliver on America’s promise of equality for all and unlock the potential of all people and our economy.
Upon reaching the Senate, the first bill Reese would introduce would create a comprehensive amendment to improve the rights of women, families, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals. Today, Lexi Reese is proposing a new “Next Generation: ERA” that enshrine family rights centered on:
- Reproductive Rights, encompassing contraception and abortion
- Equal Pay
- Family and Medical Leave
- Affordable Childcare
- Anti-Discrimination laws protecting people by race, gender, and sexual identification
“We have to support families and people who are bearing children, as well as children themselves. Until and unless we do this, we’re artificially constraining people – especially women and people without economic privilege – from being full participants in our economy and our democracy,” said Reese. “Upon reaching the Senate, I would make it my highest priority to support families, women, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities and children.”
When the current Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion, Justice Clarence Thomas called into question decisions that legalized access to contraception, the right to engage in private acts of intimacy with same-sex partners, and the right to marry whomever one chooses. This limits the economic prospects of women and the LGBTQ+ community and has a disproportionate impact on BIPOC communities. If the court were to restrict access to contraception as well, the results could lead to a drastic reimagining of women’s role in our economy and society at large.
Reese has highlighted the failure of Congress to get out ahead of critical issues such as stabilized childcare costs, contraceptive care, regulating AI, climate change, gun violence, income inequality and much more.
“I grew up in financial insecurity and now as a working mom with young kids, I have a hunger and urgency to focus on these priority issues to get things done quickly,” said Reese. “Waiting 100 years for the same old Washington players to make an impact is simply out of the question: we need new leadership in Congress.”