The Delaware Senate has yet to take up a state Equal Rights Amendment passed by the House last month.
The legislation would add a ban on gender based discrimination to the state constitution.
Senate President Pro Tem David McBride (D-Hawk's Nest) said he assigned it to a committee this week after lawmakers returned from a two-week break.
McBride won’t say why he recently removed his name as a sponsor of the bill. But he said the ERA remains a top priority this year.
“It is a priority, as with some of the others," he said. "That’s the problem. I mean like it’s not the only priority. Now the supporters of the ERA bill believe it’s the only bill down here, I believe. But unfortunately it isn’t.”
McBride initially introduced a state ERA Amendment in 1984.
Retired State Sen. Karen Peterson said she believes there’s plenty of momentum in the Senate to pass the ERA Amendment.
Opponents like the Delaware Family Policy Council say the state’s proposed ERA Amendment could be used to justify topless bathing at the state’s beaches and force taxpayers to pay for abortions.
Peterson and other supporters of the ERA Amendment disputes those claims.
