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NOW’s core issues are reproductive rights and justice, ending violence against women, economic justice, LGBTQIA rights, racial justice, and Constitutional equality.
First We Marched, Then We Voted, Now We Sue
Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON, D.C. – NOW applauds Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford for filing a civil rights suit against the Trump Administration to recognize that following Virginia’s historic vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, the ERA is now the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The
NOW Celebrates ERA Ratification Day in Virginia
Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt: RICHMOND, VA — Today’s formal ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in Virginia is a cause for celebration. This day has been a long, long time coming, and credit for this historic victory is due to the new leadership of the Virginia legislature—and the groundswell of feminist activists and voters who
Trump Uses Religion to Excuse Discrimination
Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Trump Administration is shredding every Obama-era equal rights protection it can find—but they’re especially fierce when it comes to promoting evangelical extremism. Our democracy depends on a secular government that doesn’t elevate any single religion, maintains the separation between church and state and protects our freedom from
On Roe Day We Must Vow to Protect Abortion Care
Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt: Washington, D.C. — On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court afforded Constitutional protection to women’s right to abortion care. Forty-seven years later, Roe v. Wade is still a critical victory for reproductive freedom, but it is one that is being chipped away piece by piece. In 2019 alone, according to the Guttmacher Institute, lawmakers
Why We March—And Won’t Stop Marching
Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt: Today a mass mobilization of activist women is rising up to march for women’s rights around the country, and NOW is proud to be part of these historic actions. We turn our attention to the power women have as citizens, activists and voters to defend women’s rights and elect feminist women and allies
We’re All Part of the History Being Made in Virginia Today
Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt: RICHMOND, VA – After a hundred-year journey full of heartbreaks and triumphs, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is poised to finally be part of the Constitution of the United States. NOW President Toni Van Pelt is standing on the floor of the Virginia’s House of Delegates today as they vote to become
NOW President Arrested at #FireDrillFriday
Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON, D.C.— I was proud to join my fellow climate activists at Jane Fonda’s last Fire Drill Friday in Washington, D.C., before she heads back to L.A. We are answering the alarm sounded by Greta Thunberg and other young people who are reminding us every day that “there is no planet
Donald Trump and Bill Barr Distort the Law—Again
Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON, D.C. — It’s no surprise that President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr would unleash the full force of the Department of Justice to thwart ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). In a newly released legal opinion, the Office of Legal Counsel asserts that the 1979 deadline for passage “has expired and
ERA Lawsuit A Shameful Attempt to Prevent Equality
Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON, D.C. — A lawsuit by Alabama’s Attorney General to block the renewed push to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment is, as the ERA Coalition stated, “a shameful effort to keep women from gaining Constitutional equality.” This crowd of extremist state attorneys general continues to march in lockstep with
Vote on Impeachment Vital to Protecting Our Democracy
Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt: WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House of Representatives’ vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump is a solemn step that will test our Constitutional rule of law. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the most diverse House of Representatives in history are, in the Speaker’s words, acting as “custodians of the Constitution”