New Mexico Senate Bill SJM10

New Mexico 2023 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/15/23

Caption

Equal Rights Amendment

Impact

The implications of SJM10 on state laws could foster greater gender equality within New Mexico, aligning its legal standards with the principles embodied in the ERA. If the amendment is published and ratified, it would reinforce legal protections against gender discrimination on a federal level, thus impacting laws related to employment, education, and other areas where equal treatment and non-discrimination based on sex are essential. It aims to solidify a constitutional guarantee of rights for all individuals, regardless of gender.

Summary

SJM10 is a legislative resolution from New Mexico that urges President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. to publish the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as the twenty-eighth amendment to the United States Constitution. The resolution reaffirms the text of the ERA, which emphasizes that equality of rights shall not be denied based on sex and grants Congress the authority to enforce these provisions through appropriate legislation. The resolution references the history of the ERA's introduction in 1972 and its subsequent ratification by three-fourths of the states as of January 27, 2020.

Contention

One notable point of contention surrounding SJM10 and the ERA involves the debate over time limits for ratification. Some argue that the ERA, having been initially proposed with a time limit for state ratifications, cannot be considered valid because it was not fully ratified within that timeline. Others assert that, since the Constitution does not confer Congress with the power to impose such limits, the ERA should be recognized as valid due to the number of states that have ratified it regardless of the elapsed time. This disagreement reflects broader discussions about gender equality and legislative authority in the United States.