Sonia Johnson Battles the Mormon Church and John Birch Society

In 1972 Congress passed an amendment to the constitution which read as follows:

Sec. 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

Sec. 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Sec. 3: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

Sounds harmless enough, and indeed the law was ratified, whereafter it went to the State legislatures for approval, as all Constitutional amendments must. Who'd be opposed to such an idea? Why, the "Family Values" people, of course, especially that vast tax-exempt business and influence-peddling empire known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons), who thought it would destroy our civilization, or at least the iron-clad grip that their hierarchy had on its members. In Mormonism, the leaders of the church are considered littoral prophets, and their word is law. Church President Spencer Kimball denounced the proposed amendment in 1976, stating it would would strike at the family, humankind's basic institution." (Kimball also was the one who announced he had a "Revelation from God" that blacks should be allowed to be ordained to the Mormon priesthood. Well, at least male blacks). The church soon threw itself full-tilt into fighting the ERA, organizing bands of its supposedly happy and contented women to lead the charge (of course, it was the men who coordinated things). And they had a powerful ally: the infamous John Birch Society. For years considered a far-right bunch of fanatics who saw a Communist on every street corner, the Birchers also decided to join the fight. Other big donors to the anti-ERA cause were brewer Adolph Coors and Phyllis Schlafly.

Enter Sonia Johnson, a practicing Mormon and housewife (although she did have an EdD). Johnson thought that the amendment wasn't such a bad idea, and organized Mormons for the Era. She quickly became a national celebrity, appearing on news and talk shows. Meanwhile, the leaders of her church were panicking. In 1979 Johnson made a stirring speech before the American Psychological Association about Mormonism and how it treats women that you can read here. That was the last straw. She was excommunicated. The ERA failed to be ratified, and fizzled out during the Reagan Revolution. As for Johnson, she divorced her husband, ran for President as the Citizens' Party candidate, and published some rather interesting theories on human relationships.