[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 135 (Thursday, July 30, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S4632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and 
were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-229. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the Commonwealth of Virginia ratifying and affirming the 
     Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
     States proposed by the United States Congress on March 22, 
     1972; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                     Senate Joint Resolution No. 1

       Whereas, a concurrent or joint resolution is a resolution 
     adopted by both houses of a bicameral legislature, which does 
     not require the signature of the chief executive, and a 
     concurrent or joint resolution is sufficient for a state's 
     ratification of an amendment to the Constitution of the 
     United States; and
       Whereas, Article V of the Constitution of the United States 
     provides that amendments ``shall be valid to all intents and 
     purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the 
     legislatures of three fourths of the several states''; and
       Whereas, over 80 percent of Virginians approve the 
     ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment by the Virginia 
     General Assembly; and
       Whereas, Virginia has been pivotal to incorporating 
     fundamental rights into the Constitution of the United 
     States, as when Virginia's ratification of 10 amendments in 
     1791 established the Bill of Rights; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, 
     That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia 
     hereby ratify and affirm the Equal Rights Amendment to the 
     Constitution of the United States proposed by the United 
     States Congress on March 22, 1972, and ratified by 37 states 
     legislatures. The complete text of House Joint Resolution 208 
     proposing the Equal Rights Amendment follows:

                       House Joint Resolution 208

       Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United 
     States relative to equal rights for men and women.
       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of 
     each House concurring therein), That the following article is 
     proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United 
     States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as 
     part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of 
     three-fourths of the several States within seven years from 
     the date of its submission by the Congress:
       ``Article--
       ``Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be 
     denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on 
     account of sex.
       ``Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, 
     by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
       ``Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years 
     after the date of ratification.''; and, be it
       Resolved further, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit 
     certified copies of this joint resolution to the President of 
     the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, 
     the members of the Virginia Congressional Delegation, and the 
     Archivist of the United States at the National Archives and 
     Records Administration of the United States.
                                  ____


       POM-230. A joint resolution adopted by the General Assembly 
     of the Commonwealth of Virginia ratifying and affirming the 
     Equal Rights amendment to the Constitution of the United 
     States proposed by the United States Congress on March 22, 
     1972; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                      House Joint Resolution No. 1

       Whereas, a concurrent or joint resolution is a resolution 
     adopted by both houses of a bicameral legislature, which does 
     not require the signature of the chief executive, and a 
     concurrent or joint resolution is sufficient for a state's 
     ratification of an amendment to the Constitution of the 
     United States; and
       Whereas, Article V of the Constitution of the United States 
     provides that amendments ``shall be valid to all intents and 
     purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the 
     legislatures of three fourths of the several states''; and
       Whereas, over 80 percent of Virginians approve the 
     ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment by the Virginia 
     General Assembly; and
       Whereas, Virginia has been pivotal to incorporating 
     fundamental rights into the Constitution of the United 
     States, as when Virginia's ratification of 10 amendments in 
     1791 established the Bill of Rights; Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, 
     That the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia 
     hereby ratify and affirm the Equal Rights Amendment to the 
     Constitution of the United States proposed by the United 
     States Congress on March 22, 1972, and ratified by 37 state 
     legislatures. The complete text of House Joint Resolution 208 
     proposing the Equal Rights Amendment follows:

                       House Joint Resolution 208

       Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United 
     States relative to equal rights for men and women.
       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of 
     each House concurring therein), That the following article is 
     proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United 
     States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as 
     part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of 
     three-fourths of the several States within seven years from 
     the date of its submission by the Congress:
       ``Article--
       ``Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be 
     denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on 
     account of sex.
       ``Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, 
     by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
       ``Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years 
     after the date of ratification.''; and, be it
       Resolved further, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates 
     transmit certified copies of this joint resolution to the 
     President of the United States, the Speaker of the United 
     States House of Representatives, the President of the United 
     States Senate, the members of the Virginia Congressional 
     Delegation, and the Archivist of the United States at the 
     National Archives and Records Administration of the United 
     States.

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