Utah and national suffrage leaders meet with Senator Reed Smoot on August 19, 1915. Photo courtesy of National Woman’s Party Collection, Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, Washington, DC.
This amendment provides symbolic benefits for women. In a time when disrespect and discrimination against women has been exposed, Utah can set the standard in the nation for respect of women. Rep. Karen Kwan’s HJR 007 is a sister bill to last year’s HJR 021, reaffirming respect for women. During 2020, Utahans celebrate the efforts of pioneering women working for political equality with suffrage. Utah’s First Lady Jeanette Herbert described at a recent suffrage celebration in the Capitol the need ” to continue to be audacious in our pursuit of equal rights for all.” Having to win the right to vote not once, but twice due to the Edmunds-Tucker Act – means that Utahns have a long-standing tradition of equality to uphold. This article from Brigham Young University’s Daily Universe details that compelling history.