Women do have the right to vote thanks to the 19th amendment. Even though this is true, women still do not have equal rights to men in the United States.

By having an amendment in the constitution stating that women should have equal rights, it guarantees them full equal rights in other areas instead of just the few they currently have (2).

This amendment would give women the right to make their own decisions when it comes to reproductive choices (2).

Many people think that the ERA will guarantee same sex marriages, which is not true. The ERA just states that women will have equal rights as men. Many people also think that the ERA will let women get abortions and they will be paid for by the state. This also is not true (4).

The 14th Amendment of the United States should give us equal rights, but it can exclude women. There are laws against sex discrimination, but that doesn't mean that the laws are guaranteed. If the ERA were to pass, it would guarantee equal rights for women and men (4).

A lot of the time people think men are treated equally as women, but there are times when this is not true. According to www.4ERA.org, if a woman (who is a US citizen) is in a different country when she has her baby, the baby will also be a US citizen. But, if a woman is in another country and is not a US citizen, but the father of the baby is, the baby will not become a US citizen.

Why do not many people not think the ERA is important? Well a survey was done by the ERA Campaign Network, and it showed that 72% of Americans already thought the Constitution guarenteed equal rights for men and women (6).