Here’s my official statement on this act of political cowardice by Virginia House Republicans:
LAKE RIDGE, Virginia – This afternoon, 2019 Occoquan District Supervisor Candidate Kenny Boddye issued the following statement in response to the House of Delegates failing to vote on the Equal Rights Amendment Thursday.
“The Virginia House of Delegates once again refused to bring the Equal Rights Amendment to a vote, despite the bipartisan support of the Senate of Virginia and 81% of Virginians, many of which live right here in Prince William County,” Boddye said in his statement.
“I echo the sentiments of Delegate Hala Ayala, and am deeply disappointed that our state lawmakers continue to buy into the fear tactics of extremists in our political discourse,” Boddye added. “By refusing to even vote on the amendment, the Virginia House of Delegates Republican leadership has sent a clear message to Virginia - that they do not care about the voices of their constituents, and that they lack the political courage to be on the record.”
Had the resolution been passed by the House of Delegates, Virginia would have become the 38th and final state needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment nationwide. The amendment would read: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
“This lack of political courage is not isolated to just House Republican leadership,” Boddye said. “It is very much mirrored in the actions of the majority of our own Prince William Board of County Supervisors, who also refused to vote on a county resolution in favor of the ERA. The residents of Prince William County, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, have the right to know where our elected officials stand on all issues, especially one as important as true equality for women under the law.”
The Prince William County Board of Supervisors failed to vote on a resolution proposed by Frank Principi (D-Woodbridge) which would have urged the General Assembly to vote in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment. Principi’s resolution failed on account of not having a second.
“Making your position clear in times of importance is called leadership. If our elected officials refuse to show leadership, it's time to change those officials,” Boddye added.
Every single one of the members of the Virginia General Assembly — including the House Republican Leadership who hid from the will of their constituents today — is on the ballot in November. Running alongside our state lawmakers will be county board candidates, school board candidates, and a plethora of other local seats.
If we want to ratify the ERA in Virginia, we need to flip not only the state house, but counties all over our commonwealth, too. The blue wave we’ve been building for the past two years can only be sustained with your help.