Statement from President Biden on the ERA

 

League of Women Voters Poster, c. 1965 | Library of Congress

President Biden heard our call and issued a White House statement today saying he agrees with the American Bar Association and leading constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment and that it has become part of our Constitution.

He is not, however, instructing the archivist (who believes Congress and courts need to take further action) to certify the amendment, sidestepping a battle over powers. So, it's on the table and what happens next is anyone's guess. 

• While House Statement from President Biden on the ERA
  www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/17/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-equal-rights-amendment
• AP News: Biden says the ERA should be considered ratified
  apnews.com/article/joe-biden-equal-rights-amendment-era-16b554dfe913797a52f894b72684bc45
• Biden says the ERA is law. What happens next is unclear
  https://www.npr.org/2025/01/17/nx-s1-5264378/biden-era-national-archivist-constitution

Welcome to our new State Representative!

This month marks a transition for our 2nd Hampshire legislative district, as we welcome Rep. Homar Gómez as our state representative and bid farewell to former state Rep. Dan Carey, who moves to a new role as the Hampshire County Clerk of Courts.

Rep. Gómez was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where his parents still reside. He and his wife, Sindy, and their three daughters, live in Easthampton, where the family settled in 2007. After volunteer work at Community Action Head Start and Easthampton Little League whetted his appetite for service, he ran and was elected to the Easthampton City Council in 2017 as a Precinct 2 representative, and became Council President in 2022. With a deep-rooted commitment to public service and a genuine desire to make a positive difference, Homar looks forward to advocating on behalf of the diverse people and interests of our district, which includes Easthampton, Hadley, South Hadley, and part of Granby.

Dan Carey, also from Easthampton, served as our state representative for the last six years, after the retirement of John Scibak, who held the position from 2003 to 2018, and now lives in Florida. Dan, an attorney, is looking forward to focusing on the law again, as he takes over as Clerk of Courts from Harry Jekanowski Jr., who retired from the position he held since 1994. 

Congratulations to both Homar and Dan, as well as to Sen. Jake Oliveira, who was re-elected as state senator for the Hampden, Hampshire & Worcester District on November 5. Thanks for all you do for South Hadley!

Upcoming Events

Business Meetings
Our next meeting will be at 6:30pm on Thursday, January 9, 2025 in the South Hadley Library Trustee's Conference Room. Our meetings are hybrid-online; participants may attend in-person at the Library or online via Zoom. We typically meet on the third Thursday of the month. To obtain a meeting link, join our mailing list, or for other information about SHDTC, please email: southhadleydemocrats@gmail.com. 

First Friday Breakfast and Conversation
Plan to join us at a First Friday gathering! Our next get-together will be at 8:30am on Friday, January 3, 2025 at Tailgate Picnic (www.tailgatepicnicdeli.com) in the Village Commons, 7 College Street, South Hadley. Conversation is casual, there is no set agenda, participants buy their own coffee/snacks, and all are welcome.

Community Event Reminders

• Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 6:00pm
  South Hadley Council on Aging (in-person or via Zoom)
  Dry Brook Aquifer Study Presentation
  
• Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 6:00pm
  South Hadley Public Library (in-person)
  Routes 202/33 Corridor-Community Forum 4
  Draft Zoning and Design Guidelines
  

Jimmy Carter dies at 100

Today, we honor the life and service of former President Jimmy Carter. President Carter was a true servant leader whose impact on the world and the lives he touched can never be fully measured. During his long and purpose-driven life, President Carter was guided by his faith, love of country, and sense of responsibility to his community. From his formative years as a Naval Officer to his humanitarian work later in life, President Carter was always in service of others. In the days to come, many memories will be shared about President Carter, and I hope that we can use them as an opportunity to remind ourselves of the difference one person can make.  

President Carter was an optimist, and that is a gift he leaves each of us. I am grateful our Party can count President Carter as one of our own and for the leadership he provided our country, during his time as President, and for the many years after. May President Carter rest in eternal peace and may the thought of his reunion with First Lady Rosalynn Carter bring his family and all who loved him comfort at this time of loss. 

 

Steve Kerrigan
Chair, Massachusetts Democratic Party

President Biden has 39 days to publish the ERA

As the clock ticks down on President Biden's time in office, a movement has gained traction urging him to act before his term ends to instruct the U.S. Archivist to certify and publish the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the Constitution. We can all take action to ask him to do so. 

First introduced by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman in 1923, the proposed amendment to the US Constitution, was reintroduced by Rep. Martha Griffiths in 1971. Approved by the U.S. House in 1971 and the U.S. Senate in 1972, the ERA was intended to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Despite ratification by 30 states within the first year, mounting opposition from religious and political groups slowed the effort. 

Some additional states were added between 1972 and 1977, while 6 states retracted previous ratification for a total of 35. A proposed deadline extension from March 1979 to June 1982 was finally ratified by a needed 38-state majority in 2020: in 2017 Nevada became the first state in 40 years to ratify the ERA, followed by Illinois in 2018; in 2020 Virginia in became 38th state to ratify, meeting the threshold (38 states) for an amendment to be added to the Constitution. And while legal wrangling and political debate continues, our Constitution still does not mention women. 

President Biden has the authority to bypass some of the legal obstacles and instruct the National Archivist to publish and certify the ERA to enshrine its words in the U.S. Constitution that guarantee equal rights to all people regardless of sex.

• Biden Publish the ERA (take action to add your name): www.bidenpublishtheera.org
  
• League of Women Voters (take action to add your name): President Biden must immediately publish the Equal Rights Amendment
• Find Law: 1 U.S.C. § 106b - U.S. Code - Unannotated Title 1. General Provisions § 106b. Amendments to Constitution
• Bloomberg Law-12/11/24: Biden pressured to publish Equal Rights Amendment on his way out
• The Hill-12/10/24-Democrats, advocates urge Biden to sign ERA before end of term 
• USA Today | Opinion-11/29/24: President Biden, you vowed to add ratified ERA to our Constitution. Time's Up.
  
• Center for American Progress-8/26/24: What comes next for the Equal Rights Amendment?
• ERA Coalition-12/7/21: Who is the U.S. Archivist and what does he do?
  
• Brennan Center for Justice-1/23/20: The Equal Rights Amendment explained
• Wikipedia: Equal Rights Amendment
  

A New Age of McCarthyism?

Our latest Updates newsletter features a piece co-authored by SHDTC members Jim Bosman and Susan Newton about S.4516--The Dismantle DEI Act of 2024. The bill is one of the first introduced by Congressional Republicans that draws explicitly on Project 2025 and targets people of color, women and LGBTQ+ individuals in the federal workforce, as well as agencies and programs designed to rectify historic and systemic discrimination that has held back the full participation of those groups in American life.

• SHDTC Updates-A New Age of McCarthyism_Issue 63-112624
• NBC News-November 22, 2024: Trump's transition team turns to Project 2025  
• ProPublica-October 1, 2024: Heritage Foundation Staffers Flood Federal Agencies with Thousands of Information Requests 
• The Hill-June 24, 2024: Republicans introduce measure banning DEI in federal government

Native American Voting Rights

November is Native American Heritage Month, and information provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, notes that this is an annual observance that grew out of the annual "American Indian Day" established in 1916. Through the advocacy of Seneca, NY archaeologist Dr. Arthur Parker, New York became the first state to recognize the observance of the day. 

On June 24 of this year, the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 turned 100 years old, but it would take until 1948 until it was legal for Native people to vote in all 50 states. At this critical time in our history, when every vote counts more than ever, SHDTC member Christie Reardon examines the history of voting rights for Native Americans and ways in which these rights that were finally granted decades ago remain under threat today.

• SHDTC Updates-Native American Voting Rights_Issue 62-111824
• Native American Rights Fund
• Native Governance Center
  
• Native American Heritage Month
  

A Slim Margin is not a Mandate

As votes continue to be tallied throughout the country, the popular vote for Donald Trump has fallen below fifty percent, to 49.96%, while Kamala Harris currently has 48.25% of the popular vote. As predicted, this was a very close election, but it was not a 'landslide.' For current results, see:

• The Cook Political Report: 2024 Vote Tracker
  

The Thoughtful Conversation We Need

Spend a therapeutic hour with two smart people--a comedian and a historian--as they explore our past, our present, and the uncertain future of our democratic system in the wake of the recent election.

• The Weekly Show Podcast with Jon Stewart and guest
  Heather Cox Richardson, November 8, 2024 (1:04:18)
  www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7cKOaBdFWo

Do Not Despair

For anyone who hasn't seen the gracious and inspiring speech Kamala Harris delivered today, it's well worth watching to help us process our sense of loss and provide hope for the future. 

This video from The Guardian runs 11:42 minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z5UdXupfOA