Officials, celebrities gather around Fearless Girl statue to call for equal rights
LOWER MANHATTAN, New York (WABC) -- Local leaders and celebrities gathered around the Fearless Girl statue in Lower Manhattan to call for equal rights.
The group is pushing for the Equal Rights Amendment to finally be ratified.
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said Monday she finally feels like the winds of change are at women's backs for the first time in her life.
"We need to act so that women's progress and women's equality cannot be threatened by every shift of political winds of who is the majority in the Supreme Court, who is in the White House, who are the leaders in the state legislatures across the country or in our own Congress," Rep. Maloney said. "These should be bedrock protections in our constitution, not left up to the whims of the wind."
Actress Alyssa Milano joined the congresswoman to urge the public to get behind the cause and pressure lawmakers to make sure all Americans, regardless of their sex, have equal rights.
As the constitution currently stands, women are only guaranteed the right to vote.
Although Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, only 35 states -- including New York -- ratified it. Nevada ratified it in 2017 and Illinois did so just last week.
The magic number is 38 to amend the constitution.
Supporters say now that the Me Too movement has become a rallying cry, they believe it's the perfect time to push to ratify the ERA.
"The Equal Rights amendment, if not now, then when," Milano said. "Women are together, we have formed a bond that is unstoppable and I don't think we're going to stop until we get the Equal Rights Amendment passed. And equal means equal."
On Wednesday, Mahoney and Milano will host a shadow hearing in Washington to make sure the issue stays front and center.
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