COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE RESOLUTION 8
(By Delegates Brown, P. White, Spencer, Kessel, Douglas,
Reed, Facemyer, Phillips, Brum, Leach, Warner, Pettit,
Rutledge, Compton, D. Cook and Yeager)

Memorializing the President and Congress of the United States to propose the adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Whereas, Legal injustice and discrimination on the basis of gender have long existed; and

Whereas, The citizens of West Virginia clearly support an end to discrimination on the basis of gender through an amendment to the Constitution of this nation, as the United States has previously renounced slavery, racial discrimination, and denial of the right to vote on the basis of race or gender; and
Whereas, Congress in 1972 proposed a federal Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution to provide for equality of the law regardless of gender, which was narrowly defeated in 1982; and
Whereas, The West Virginia House of Delegates prefers that each state ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment to achieve a uniform national policy; and
Whereas, The Equal Rights Amendment provides that gender should not be a factor in determining the legal rights of men and women and thereby recognizes the fundamental dignity, individuality, and worth of each human being; and
Whereas, The West Virginia House of Delegates again stands ready to ratify a federal Equal Rights Amendment when approved by Congress for state ratification; therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Delegates:
That the House of Delegates of the State of West Virginia respectfully memorializes the President and the Congress of the United States to propose to the several states an amendment to the Constitution of the United States stating that all men and women are equal under the law; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each Senator and Representative from West Virginia in the Congress of the United States.