The Equal Rights Amendment

Sound off about your opinions — and find out what other girls think!

Some responses to our newest Voice Box topics will be chosen for New Moon Girls Magazine.

Voice Box Polls

Take one of the polls or take both polls. Answer some of the questions or all of the questions. You choose!

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Voice Box: The Equal Rights Amendment

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.

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An early version of the ERA to the U.S. Constitution was first proposed in 1923 by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman of the National Women’s Rights Party. It was never passed by Congress.

In 1972 more than two-thirds of the House of Representatives and the Senate voted for the amendment above. Then the ERA went to the 50 state legislatures. Thirty-eight of the states needed to ratify the amendment before it would become law.

By 1982, the deadline Congress imposed for ratification, 35 states ratified the ERA. Supporters of ERA didn’t give up and in 2020 the 38th state ratified the amendment.

Two years later the ERA is still not law because there is political disagreement about whether or not the 1982 deadline should prevent the ERA from being part of the Constitution.

Section 1, Question 1

Do you think the U.S. Constitution should have the ERA added?

Yes, the ERA should be added

No, the ERA shouldn’t be added

Maybe/unsure if ERA should be added

Section 1, Question 2

Why or Why Not?

Section 1, Question 3

What do you think is good about the ERA?

Section 1, Question 4

What do you think is bad about the ERA?

Section 1, Question 6

Does it matter how much time passed between the ERA being proposed and being ratified?

Section 1, Additional Comments

What else do you want to say about the ERA?

Voice Box: Online vs. In-Person Friendships

During the pandemic, having friends went through a lot of changes. With the help of technology, we can have both in-person friends and online friends we’ve never met in person. What do you think are the pros and cons of both these kinds of friends?

Section 2, Question 1

Tell us about your friendships. In what ways did you meet your friends? How do you like to talk with them? For example: at school, at your houses, on the phone, by email, texting, social media, etc.

Section 2, Question 2

Do you prefer in-person or online friendships? Do you like both? Why, or why not?

Section 2, Question 3

What are the advantages of in-person friendships?

Section 2, Question 4

What are the downsides of in-person friendships?

Section 2, Question 5

What are the advantages of online friendships?

Section 2, Question 6

What are the downsides of online friendships?

Section 2, Other Comments

What else do you want to say about friendships?

What Do You Want to See in the Next Voice Box?

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Here’s what some girls said about our last topic: Should There Be A Voting Age?

I think there should be a voting age, but not 18. I don’t think it makes sense that young people cant vote. Who is in government power is part of our future and it doesn’t seem fair that we have to let adults decide what happens.
If I were in charge the voting age would be 13. A lot of young kids have strong opinions about the government and it seems unfair to have to watch adults decide their future. I don’t think the voting age should be super young because voting is complicated and there are a lot of steps to it, and I also think super young kids would just vote how their parents told them to. If they could vote, I would hope that kids would realize that they have the power to make an impact and they would start to learn and get more involved in being part of deciding the future. -Clarice, 13, CA

In my opinion, yes, there should be a voting age. If kids could vote, too many kids might vote for someone who won’t be a good president and the states might end up messed up. I think the voting age should be at least 19-yrs old so they have more experience. –Cat Girl, 9, FL