House Majority Leader Rep. Valerie Longhurst has sponsored a bill amending the Delaware Constitution to include an equal rights amendment.
The bill would add the following section to Article 1 of the Constitution:
Section 21. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged on account of the sex of the person.
The bill is only the first step in an extended process. Two-thirds of each chamber of the General Assembly must approve an amendment in two consecutive legislative sessions. Or legislators can approve a ballot question, through two-thirds vote in each chamber, asking voters to approve a constitutional convention.
The bill’s sponsors argue an equal right amendment is necessary for equal protection under the law, particularly for women.
“Without an Equal Rights amendment, women’s rights and protections are limited,” a summary of the bill read. “This Amendment is necessary to correct a constitutional shortcoming, reduce sex-based disparities and to codify our State’s value of equality.”
