To the editor:

We’re about to commemorate one of the most pivotal moments in American history.

Constitution Day will be celebrated on Wednesday. This day commemorates the signing of the United States Constitution in Philadelphia on Sept. 17, 1787. It recognizes the importance of the Constitution in establishing the framework of the U.S. government and the rights of its citizens.

There’s just one catch — the Constitution is not a perfect document. It’s missing constitutional equality for women, likely because women were considered the property of men at the time. That is why men and women have been working for decades to publish the Equal Rights Amendment into the Constitution. It reads, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

Did you know that the ERA met the required signatures to become the 28th amendment in 2020? When I wrote a letter to the editor earlier about this subject, an elected official wrote a scathing response, full of misinformation. That came as no surprise to me, but let’s clear the air about why publishing the ratified 28th Amendment is so necessary.

Have you been paid less than a man for the same work? Does your insurance company charge you more for coverage than men? Our basic rights are under attack, including our right to vote, which several white Christian nationalists proudly proclaim women should lose. Your leaders and influencers arrogantly show you their true colors in calling for the elimination of the 19th Amendment, which gives women the right to vote.

Instead, they want women to follow their husbands’ choices. I guess that also means single women are totally disenfranchised because they are not partnered with a man. MAGA pundit Charlie Kirk may have tragically lost his life, but not before stating that Taylor Swift should now submit to Travis Kelce, once their engagement was announced. Ohio legislators snuck a provision into a state transportation bill that puts women’s vote at risk. If you go to your local Bureau of Motor Vehicles and want to register to vote, you have to not just affirm that you are a U.S. citizen, but also show documents like a passport or birth certificate that matches the name on your driver’s license. If you changed your name when you married, you are out of luck. This is a quick way to shut women out of the voting booth, especially when you learn that four out of 10 people register to vote at the BMV.

Ohio’s provision is similar to the SAVE Act, which would implement the same requirement across the nation. This is not a time to despair, though. You can learn more about constitutional equality by visiting the Facebook pages of Ohio Valley NOW and the Midwest Center for Constitutional Rights. We’ve found the missing piece of our Constitution. Now all we need to do is convince Congress or the president to complete the puzzle to ensure equality for everyone.

Marjie DeFede

Rayland