CARSON CITY — With women crowding the galleries, the Nevada Assembly approved the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution along a party line vote.
In the audience today was former Lt. Gov. Sue Wagner, who was one of the early supporters of the ERA in the 1970s. Assembly members in floor speeches referred to Wagner, the first woman to become lieutenant governor in Nevada.
The vote was 28-14.
Assemblywoman Jill Tolles of Reno was the only Republican to vote for the measure.
Assemblyman Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, noted that the approval is “purely symbolic.”
Nevada would be the 35th state to approve the amendment. At least 38 states must OK a change to the Constitution, but Congress set a 1982 deadline for the states to approve the ERA.
Assemblywoman Olivia Dias, D-Las Vegas, said women still are not treated equally, noting that women earn 70 cents to each $1 for a man, while black women earn just 64 cents.
The resolution now returns to the Senate for technical approval. The Senate previously passed the amendment 13-8.