Julia Louis-Dreyfus: ‘Women Don’t Have Equal Rights in the U.S. Constitution’

Julia Louis-Dreyfus speaks with reporters on the red carpet for the 21st Annual Mark Twain
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images
Ben Kew

Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus has made a rallying call for Democrats to win back four seats in Virginia’s state legislature, declaring that such a result would enable them to ensure women finally have “equal rights in the U.S. constitution.”

The 58-year-old actress made the plea in a video posted to Twitter on Monday, arguing that by winning back control of the legislature would allow Virginia to become the 38th and final state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

“Did you know women don’t have equal rights in the U.S. constitution?” the Seinfeld star began. “Yeah. Incredible, isn’t it. But we can fix that by flipping Virginia’s state legislature on November 5th. If we flip two seats in each chamber, we can become the 38th and final state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.” 

Louis-Dreyfus continued: 

And if that’s not enough, census and redistricting are around the corner, so turning Virginia blue can help prevent gerrymandering for a decade. My smart friends at ImpactSlates have crunched the numbers and made it so that with just one click you can help 10 amazing female candidates flip their districts.

Give a dollar, give ten dollars, give more if you can. A hundred percent of the proceeds go directly to the candidates. Make a real impact with ImpactSlates right now and I’m going to follow up and shout out people from all over the country who get involved. 

However, the chance of the ERA becoming a constitutional amendment in the near future remains extremely remote, given that after ratification it would need a sign off from both Congress and President Donald Trump.

The ERA was first introduced in 1923, but after decades of opposition from a cross-section of society, including a large number of women, the amendment was never ratified before the 1979 deadline.

According to activists, the amendment will “guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex” by seeking “to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment, and other matters.”

However, critics argue it will provide women with preferential rights over men largely via affirmative action, while also overturning all restrictions on abortion and a child’s right to life.

Louis-Dreyfus meanwhile remains one of Hollywood’s most fervent Democratic Party activists, regularly participating in “Get Out the Vote” campaigns and other progressive causes.

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