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Woman walking in support of ERA

Tribune staff report
Helene Swanson, of Sausalito, Calif., is traveling the country in support of an Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Swanson was in South Lake Tahoe and traveling to Carson City on Monday.
Tom Lotshaw / Tahoe Daily Tribune |

Helene Swanson, of Sausalito, Calif., says she’s traveling the country on foot, urging states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Swanson was in South Lake Tahoe and headed to Carson City on Monday.

“I started from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and I’ve been walking ever since,” she said.

The amendment guaranteeing equal rights to women was written in the 1920s and introduced in every Congress between 1923 and 1972, when it was passed and sent to the states for ratification.



Not enough states ever ratified the amendment for it to take effect before a deadline passed. Supporters of the ERA are trying to get that deadline lifted to recognize the 35 states that ratified the amendment and get support from 15 others that never did.

“I want to educate my fellow Americans that it’s not a dead issue, that it’s alive and well and needs everyone’s support,” Swanson said. “Women aren’t treated equally or viewed equally under the law. It will improve us. It will empower us.”


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