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HARRY HUGHES, Governor 2305
Supreme Court has not applied the same strict standard in sex
discrimination cases that it has mandated for weighing racial
discrimination; and
WHEREAS, Public opinion polls show that 71 percent of likely
voters favored a constitutional guarantee of equal rights for
women; and
WHEREAS, Over 500 organizations representing more than 50
million Americans have endorsed the ERA; and
WHEREAS, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX of the
education amendments, and the Equal Pay Act are laws most cited
as providing equal opportunities for women, but experience has
shown that in the past 21 years these statutes have not provided
adequate enforcement and have not resulted in desired changes in
the patterns and practice of discrimination; and
Whereas, The Equal Pay Act passed by the 88th Congress
became effective June 11, 1964 and, since that time, women have
not gained ground in the battle for equal pay; and
WHEREAS, On March 7, 1982, the U.S. Labor Department
released a report on the weekly earnings of men and women that
revealed that women are earning substantially less than men
within the same occupations; and
WHEREAS, Equal rights for women have been embodied in the
Constitution of the State of Maryland since 1972, the Maryland
General Assembly having passed an Amendment to the Declaration of
Rights which was ratified by the voters of Maryland; and
WHEREAS, The fears of some that passage of the ERA would
result in the courts being beseiged with challenges of sexually
discriminatory statutes have not been confirmed in Maryland nor
in other states that have enacted their own equal rights
amendments; and
WHEREAS, Significant gains have been made in removing sex
discrimination from the laws of Maryland over the past 10 years;
and
WHEREAS, These gains and further reforms must be made on a
national level; and
WHEREAS, On June 30, 1982, when the deadline for the passage
of the original federal ERA passed, there were only 3 states
short of the 38 needed to make the ERA the 27th Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution; and
WHEREAS, There can be no time limit placed on the pursuit of
equality and justice; now, therefore, be it
WHEREAS, The United States Congress now has before it, as
Senate Joint Resolution No. 10 and House Joint Resolution No. 1,
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