 | The Cavalier daily Tuesday, February 6, 1973 |  |
Provokes Controversy
", provides for
f te toil,
d ormatory
Executive Director
Comion on
vision, A.E.
d, said that
tion of the
d never been
e believes that
of what ERA
do. Because of this
ERA would make less
denc to Virginia than
other states, according to him.
Mr. Hornby agrees that the
Virginia clause is the same as
ERA. "Why not go one step
further?" he asked. "Why not
lot the rest of the country have
what Virginia already has?"
Criminal Offenses
A related fear is that under
ERA, rape will no longer be a
criminal offense. Mrs. Schlafly
says that "ERA will wipe out
the laws which protect only
women against sex crimes such
as rape."
Proponents, strongly
disagreeing, quote a Senate
report on the ERA which
substantiates their position:
"The amendment will not
invalidate laws which punish
rape for such laws were
designed to protect women in a
way in which they are uniquely
different from men."
Thus laws based on unique
characteristics of one sex from
criminal laws prohibiting rape
to civil laws which govern
medical payment for childbirth
will also continue to be
valid. Other laws which may
be changed by the passage of
ERA are the so-called
"protective labor laws."
Protective Legislation
Mrs. Schlafly says that ERA
will wipe out the protections
women now have from
"dangerous and unpleasant
jobs." These protections
include laws limiting women's
work hours, and prohibiting
night work or employment in
certain occupations. In Virginia,
protective laws restrict the
hours a woman can work per
week to nine hours a day or six
days a week.
The League of Women
Voters claim that this
"protective legislation"
imposes arbitrary restrictions
on women, often disqualifying
them from supervisory jobs
requiring overtime. They say
that protective legislation laws
have been used to deny women
promotions, overtime pay and
uniform collective bargaining.
| The Cavalier daily Tuesday, February 6, 1973 | |