Patricia Arquette testifies before Congress about Equal Rights Amendment: 'Women are rising up by the millions'
Patricia Arquette appeared before Congress in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to express her support of the Equal Rights Amendment.
The 51-year-old actress cited 'a groundswell in this country' to institute the amendment, which places legal protections for women against discrimination on account of gender.
'Women are rising up by the millions and saying they will not be sexually assaulted, they will not be paid less, they will not be treated as subhuman and they will have their voices heard,' said the actress, according to the Huffington Post.
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Seeking change: Patricia Arquette, 51, appeared before Congress in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to express her support of the Equal Rights Amendment
The Oscar-winner spoke to the House Judiciary Committee, pledging her support for a bill that would scuttle a 1982 deadline for the amendment that was never officially ratified after receiving support from 35 of a necessary 38 states after Congress had passed it a decade earlier.
The Chicago native wore a white gown in solidarity with fellow activists, with her blonde locks in a bob. She was front-and-center as Congress - which welcomed a record-setting number of female representatives after last fall's Midterm Elections - held its first hearing in 36 years on the matter, amid a bill California Rep. Jackie Speier sponsored.
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The True Romance star, speaking to ABC News, said the amendment is a critical one that impacts all people.
'It really should be personal for every woman, and it should mean a lot to every man who loves women or who cares about equality at all,' Arquette said. 'On the outside, you think that when you look at America women have equal rights.
Nice to meet you: The True Romance star shoot hands with chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, New York Rep. Jerry Nadler
Focused: The Academy Award-winning star cited 'a groundswell in this country' among women to institute the amendment
'But when you start picking it apart - at all the ways women are falling through the cracks - you start to think maybe we aren't really equal?'
Also appearing at the hearing on Tuesday was actress Alyssa Milano, who said that the ERA would 'build a wall - a wall that will actually do something against the never-ending assault on our rights from the current or future presidents.'
Milano, 46, said that ratifying it after 36 years would signal 'to the nation and to the world that the most important document in American history refuses to allow any person to be discriminated against because of who they are.'
Dedicated: For years, the Oscar-winning star has been outspoken about social and political issues near to her heart
Passionate: Alyssa Milano testified the ERA would 'build a wall - a wall that will actually do something against the never-ending assault on our rights from the current or future presidents'
