Urge President Biden to publish the Federal Equal Rights Amendment!

In the United States, women are still not guaranteed equal rights. We have seen the devastating consequences of this reality.

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which will update the US Constitution to protect the equality of rights under the law regardless of sex, can be added to the Constitution with one action. With just months left in office, we are urging President Biden to act to ensure that the ERA is published. 

The ERA has met all requirements for ratification.

ACTION:

Contact the White House and ask President Biden to take action on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) by instructing the US Archivist to certify the 28th Amendment.

1. Call or text the White House Comment Line:
- Call (202)-456-1111 (Comment line is open Tuesday - Thursday only)
- Text text (302) 404-0880

2. Send an E-mail: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/share

3. Sign the LWV letter: https://www.lwv.org/take-action/president-must-immediately-publish-equal-rights-amendment

The ERA will protect against the rollback of rights, provide a vital tool for the judicial branch to decide sex discrimination cases, and pave the way for further legislative progress toward sex and gender equality.  

For more information and additional ways to support this important effort, see the ERA coalition website, or go to League of Women Voters ERA page (national website).

Women’s Rally/March on November 2, 2024

Comments by Patricia Nugent, chair, Women's Rights Awareness Campaign, LWVSC 

Remember that song: We’re here because we’re here because we’re here because we’re here? I always thought it was a kids’ song, but it was originally a WWI British soldiers’ lament. 

It’s our theme today: We’re here because we’re here!! And we’re not going away! 

We’re here because the League of Women Voters has been marching for “liberty and justice for all” for more than 100 years. And we’re still not done. 

We’re here to challenge the caste system that treats women and minorities like second-class citizens. 

We’re here because “Human rights are women’s rights. And women’s rights are human rights.” 

We’re here because all Americans are NOT equally protected under our state or federal Constitutions. 

We’re here because we live in the only country in the Western Hemisphere – in fact, the only industrialized nation in the world - without gender equality in our constitution!

We’re here because SCOTUS deemed it legal to discriminate against women. 

We’re here because all citizens deserve to be treated equally by our government.

We’re here because of creeping (and creepy) misogyny, oppression and discrimination, and a corresponding rise in hate crimes. 

We’re here because there is public policy talk of redefining women’s right to vote: 

• advocating for head-of-household voting only; 

• awarding votes to women based on how many children they have 

• exalting stay-at-home mothers above all others 

• repealing the 19th amendment granting women’s suffrage

We’re here because contraceptives are under threat. 

We’re here because abortion bans are for controlling women, not for protecting fetuses. 

We’re here because bans don’t stop abortions; they only stop SAFE abortions. 

We’re here because laws are being proposed to execute women who have abortions.

We’re here because maternal death rates are 62% higher in abortion-restricted states. 

We’re here because 65,000 pregnancies resulted from rape in just two years in 14 states with abortion bans. 

We’re here because women are being denied emergency care in life-threatening situations, and because of increasing pre-term births and infant mortality rates.

Yes, we’re here because our sisters are dying.

We’re here because The Handmaid’s Tale no longer seems like a work of fiction.  

We’re here because when they come for one of us, they come for all of us! 

We’re here because our foremothers came to America to give us a better life. 

We’re here because immigrants who bring their children here to escape grave danger deserve a safe haven. 

We’re here because Rev Martin Luther King Jr told us “What affects one directly affects all of us indirectly.”

We’re here because our state Constitution doesn’t protect women, LGBTQ, disabled, or elderly people from discrimination.

We’re here because existing protections could be reversed through legislation. 

We’re here because we are protecting reproductive rights and the rights of all marginalized groups in NYS by voting YES on Prop 1 on the back of our ballots this year.

We’re here to counter the lies, disinformation, and fear-mongering funded by out-of-state billionaires trying desperately to preserve their patriarchy.

We're here because we’re fed up with that patriarchy and more committed than ever to realize justice in our lifetimes. 

We’re here because we vote our truth… and it’s pissing them off! 

We’re here because “Women are shaping the future of our democracy.”

We’re here because the League will continue the fight for a democracy where all voices are heard. Join us! We’re 250 members strong in this county alone! 

We’re here because we stand on the shoulders of women much braver than we who are gracing us today with their presence.

We’re here because we’re here. And we’re not going away. 

                                                                                                   -Nugent/ LWVSC/November 2024

Fierce Feminist: Linda Salzer

The 2024 LWVSC Fierce Feminist Award was presented this year to Linda Salzer by the 2023 award recipient, Patricia Nugent. The presentation was part of the ”Continuing Susan’s Fight for Equality” event and visit to Susan B. Anthony’s childhood home in Battenville, Washington County, NY, on Women’s Equality Day, August 26, 2024.

Presentation by Patricia Nugent (8/26/24)

Last year, at our League’s Famous Person Fundraiser, Barb Thomas presented an unofficial award that she made up! As she described the recipient, including the term Fierce Feminist, I sat curiously listening, thinking, “Gee, I’d like to know the person she’s describing.” I didn’t realize it was me! She gave me an ERA pin that she’d had for close to 50 years. It means so much to me because I admire Barb so much. She was our original Fierce Feminist!

The award was intended to be a one-off, but I appealed to the LWV board to make it an annual recognition: The Fierce Feminist Award so now it will be presented every year – on Women’s (In)equality Day, August 26. (I told Barb I wouldn’t say Inequality Day today to ruin the celebration but a Fierce Feminist just HAS to!)

The rules are that 1) the past recipient chooses the next recipient 2) the prize is something they themselves own that represents their feminist journey.

It was no easy task to choose this year’s Fierce Feminist. I’ve had the privilege of working with 12 people on the Alice Brigade and every one of them qualifies. But I remembered Linda’s words to me when she first joined the Alice Brigade: “This is no time to be timid!” It became a rallying cry and has guided many decisions we made in this campaign to help women realize they are oppressed. One presentation she did for us was titled, “Bitches and Witches,” tracing the history of demeaning terms for women. (e.g. “Son of a bitch”). Linda continues to challenge me to call out conditions and what must be done.

She has co-chaired our Communication Team with Kim Harvish and pushed the envelope on our message. Our Women’s Rights Awareness Campaign Facebook page has 125 followers from all over the country and abroad. It prompted a foreign correspondent to call our League for an interview about a reproductive rights ruling in Alabama.

Linda has blogged about reproductive rights as well as other inequities for the LWV’s website. She has risen to every delegated challenge, although probably wishes she hadn’t at times. If she doesn’t know how to approach a task, she independently researches it. I threw some complex projects her way, and she figured them out in a timely way – even if it meant resorting to AI! Like converting a dense legal essay into a Q&A interview. Like recruiting people to leaflet for the ERA outside a theater at 9:30 for four weekend nights!

She lives here in Washington County and has extended the League’s reach here through organizing candidate events and ERA tabling. Linda is in her 25th year as an engineer as encouraged by her dad – her grandmother had switched careers from nursing to construction manager supervising all-male crews! And the feminist strain in her family continues as she takes her daughter with her on crusades. Linda has taken her daughter to marches in Washington. But perhaps the bravest thing she’s ever done is join Toastmasters to get over her fear of public speaking. She was terrified but did it anyway. It took her ten years to attend a meeting, but won awards once she did. Her story is one of slowly finding her voice and helping others find theirs.

Like so many of us here, Linda Salzer is a Fierce Feminist and I’m proud to share this honor with her. And may I remind you, in her words, “This is no time to be timid.” Congratulations, Linda!

Answering Remarks by Linda Salzer (8/26/24)

Thank you, Pat, for your nomination and kind words. I am truly honored to be recognized as a Fierce Feminist by you and the League of Women Voters. When I first heard the news, I wondered, “Did Pat have the right person?” But here I am, deeply flattered and grateful for this award.

Some of us are born fierce, but many, including myself, have had to learn it. We started by faking it, and over time, that fierceness became an integral part of who we are. I suspect many of you have had a similar journey.

We are living through a challenging time in history, one that tests our resolve like never before. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and afraid. But now is not the time to be passive. The best way to combat fear is through action.

When we join forces, we discover that we don’t have to carry the weight of the world alone. Let’s lift up those around us and invite them to join in our efforts. Being fierce means standing up when no one else will, harnessing our anger to fuel our determination, and walking the difficult path even when it’s tough.

Time is short, and we must use our voices and speak up.

Every day, we have the opportunity to be fierce.

In the words of Kyra O’Connor:

“A fierce woman is fierce in belief, in joy, in compassion, in commitment, in intelligence, in wit, and in community. She’s capable not only of finding her own way but of creating a path for others; she doesn’t just break down doors, she tears down walls.”

Of course, tearing down walls isn’t only a women’s job. As Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” A fierce feminist knows that equal rights and opportunities must be extended to all genders. We rise together or not at all.

Let’s all be fierce together. Thank you.

Barb Thomas Honored for Lifetime of Activism

Barbara Thomas, who had been president or co-president of the League of Women Voters of Saratoga County for 20 years, was honored with the Kathryn Starbuck Lifetime Achievement Award and recognized for a lifetime of activism on behalf of equality, the environment and other social justice issues. The Starbuck award is named for a prominent Saratoga Springs suffragist. Below are the remarks of Patricia Nugent, another past president of LWV Saratoga, introducing Barb at the awards luncheon on June 23, 2024..

Introduction of BarBara Thomas
Kathryn Starbuck Lifetime Achievement Award Ceremony

by Patricia Nugent

Gideon Putnam Hotel, Sunday, June 23, 2024

Thank you. It’s a true privilege and a pleasure to be introducing Barbara Thomas today.  She’s always had my admiration, and I’m happy to publicly share the reasons for that. Thank you for the opportunity.

The timing of this event is good, even though a few of us arrived back from NYC around 11:00 last night. Our League of Women Voters took a busload to Broadway to attend the musical SUFFS about the courageous women who led the women’s equality movement in the early 1900s. The theater yesterday – and I hear this is true every day - was filled with sobbing women; women who are so tired of being marginalized and minimized as they continue to fight for equality in our current culture. So, celebrating Kathryn Starbuck’s legacy today is the perfect follow-up for remembering our own power. As is honoring my friend and colleague, Barb.

I’m going to take you way back - to the dark ages (no, that’s not when Barb was born) – take you to that dangerous era when we used to answer the telephone without knowing who was on the other end. (To remind you, phones also had cords that were attached to walls, not attached to people!) I can tell you from personal experience that there was nothing worse than saying “Hello” and hearing, “Oh, hi, Pat. It’s Barb Thomas.” (I worked on that imitation – I want you to appreciate that!) It was bad to hear her voice because Barb always had a knack for matching people’s interests with organizational needs. It’s not only hard to personally turn her down; it’s hard for chronic activists, like me, to decline the well-suited opportunity to make a difference that she offers others.

Because that’s what Barb has been known for in Saratoga County and beyond for more than half a century: Taking action on issues that impact the quality of life for every American. The League of Women Voters, with which much of Barb’s activism is closely associated, advocates and lobbies for fair and equal representation in our democracy, and now, even more so, protection of that democracy. We are a nonpartisan, yet political organization that studies issues, seeks consensus from diverse stakeholders, and then promotes a position – not a party or a candidate, but a position. For that reason, we’re in the unenviable position of offending either major political party at any given point in time. And we have. And we will. But in this hyper-partisan political climate, it gives the League the opportunity to come down on the side of how a representative democracy should always function no matter who’s in charge.

When Barb stepped down as our LWV president in 2011, after 20 consecutive years (who does that?), I had the terrifying honor of stepping into the role. To step into her little tiny shoes that were so huge to fill. I don’t know how she did it so well for so long - with a family, including four sons! I was exhausted after two years and, like LBJ, did not seek a second term. At various junctures, we’ve had as many as four people serving as a steering committee to do the job that Barb did single-handedly for 20 years!  As a League president, you have many stakeholders who are passionate and not shy about expressing their views. I suspect this group knows a little something about that dynamic.

Part of why it’s hard for anyone to fill Barb’s shoes is that she not only carries passion for diverse social issues from climate change to gun safety, she also has the increasingly-rare tendency to speak in terms of facts and data.  She can rattle off the reasons for League positions without notes. Some of us go on instinct as to what feels right; Barb remembers the nuts and bolts, and can clearly articulate them. She doesn’t mince words – she’s a straight talker. If she thinks you’re wrong, she’ll tell you. (Her kids can probably attest to that.) For these reasons and more, she’s also been a valuable League leader at the state level for decades. She is a treasured resource in many circles.

Barb is small but mighty. She puts her money where her mouth is. She walks the talk. She’s a generous donor to the League and beyond. She and her late husband Bob donated 13 acres of their personal property to Saratoga Plan to help preserve public access to Kayaderosseras Creek in West Milton and protect it from development. (Again, who does that?) She also self-funded an annual celebration of Roe to remind us of the importance of that victory to women’s lives. Little did we know the peril we’d be in today. I’m so glad Sasha will be speaking more about that shortly.

Barb’s current mission is to advocate for the right to die peacefully, without undue suffering. She lobbies the NYS Legislature to advance the legalization of medical aid in dying. I’m told everyone who passes her in the hall knows her by name.

I’ve said to her (somewhat seriously), “Barb, you can’t ever die!” to which she calmly replies, “Well, I have to someday.” I’m not convinced…she’s already conquered a couple serious diagnoses. But when that time comes, my world will be smaller and scarier. But certainly better because she was here.

When we recognized her on the bus yesterday for the honor you are bestowing today, she said, “The best way to honor me is to continue the work.” We must all continue the work.

So, I celebrate her today with all my heart. I’m grateful I have a Barbara Thomas in my life. And grateful to this committee for honoring her today. Thank you.

|||||||||||||||||||||||||

See the Daily Gazette article on June 21, 2024 about Barbara Thomas’s 50 plus years of activism:
”Walking the walk: Community activist Barbara Thomas still striving toward equality: Schuylerville resident will be honored this weekend with the Kathryn Starbuck Lifetime Achievement Award “