We should have a constitutional amendment that guarantees each person, no matter their gender, will be treated fairly under the law. The amendment would also serve a purpose: By being in the Constitution, our supreme legal document, the amendment would ensure that existing laws aren’t rolled back.
The idea is similar to the Golden Rule, an important tenet in every major religion and most secular societies. Treat others as you would be treated. That’s the basis for laws against discrimination. This new amendment could be called “The Golden Rule of Gender Equality.”
True, amendments are hard to add to the Constitution. First, each house of Congress must approve a proposed amendment by at least a two-thirds vote. Then, three-fourths of the states must ratify the amendment.
I am asking you to support “The Golden Rule of Gender Equality” as our 28th Amendment. What? There already is a 28th Amendment, you say?
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Oh yes, the Equal Rights Amendment. I like that one, and it’s already done. The ERA completed its two-step constitutional amendment process on Jan. 27, 2020. Can the government please publish it already?
Michele Honora Thorne, Wilmette
Good riddance to Boeing
Boeing can be called many things, but “great corporate citizen” isn’t one of them, whatever marketing consultant Paul O’Connor may think. Has he already forgotten how Boeing’s flawed, corner-cutting design for its 737 MAX jet led to the deaths of over 300 people and how the company initially blamed the pilots?
For most of its history, Boeing was based in Seattle, the site of its major manufacturing facilities. Senior executives left that city some 20 years ago. They shopped around for a new location, finally accepting the rich incentives offered by Chicago.
But what goes around comes around. Having used up its corporate welfare package, Boeing is now moving its HQ to Arlington, Virginia, at the heart of the military-industrial complex, leaving Chicago high and dry.
O’Connor says he felt a pang of sadness upon hearing of Boeing’s exit. I think it’s good riddance to a bad actor.
Hugh Iglarsh, Skokie
Supreme Court is diminishing freedom
So what do the following countries have in common: Angola, Dominican Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, El Salvador, Gabon, Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Laos, Madagascar, Philippines, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Suriname and Tonga?
The simple answer is they are among the 25 nations that fully ban abortions. The more difficult question is: Why in the world is the United States poised to join their ranks?
What’s more, why are five justices so determined to reject the majority opinion of most Americans (60-70% in recent polls) and vote to make clinical abortions illegal?
One thing is for certain: As our country becomes more conservative and a lot less protective of individual rights, we should have seen this coming, even from afar. But it’s never easy to see our freedoms diminished and our dignity challenged.
Bob Ory, Elgin
