ERA narrowly defeated at the last minute in North Carolina
McKay describes the process by which the Equal Rights Amendment was narrowly defeated in the North Carolina General Assembly in 1973. First, she explains how she and other advocates of the ERA vigorously campaigned so that on the day of the vote, the ERA should have gone through the senate with a 25-25 split. Jim Hunt, then serving as lieutenant governor, was prepared to break the tie. The morning of the vote, however, two state senators, Mike Mullins and Gordon Allen, changed their votes of supports to votes of opposition, resulting in the defeat of the ERA.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Martha C. McKay, March 29, 1974. Interview A-0324. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
At any rate, then the Senate committee met on Friday and I
believe that it was voted out by an 8 to 7 favorable majority. But you
see, the House knew we were worse off in the Senate than we were in
the House, they knew that. The Senate all year
long, last year and this year has been, as H.L. Mencken used to say,
"a Sahara." I mean that it has just been devoid of
leadership, character, you know, the whole smear. They have been
perfectly awful. The legislature hasn't been good, but the Senate has
been dreadful. Also, we had worked on the Senators, we had worked on
those committee members very hard to get a favorable vote. Because a
bill that doesn't get a favorable vote is hardly ever voted on favorably
and they would have used that for an out on ERA. We worked very hard on
the committee. But, we had not lobbyed the Senators, we had spent, I
don't know, five or six weeks or whatever the time period was, doing
nothing but working on House members. Nothing. I mean, I could pull out
my . . . that's what I had marked. We just went over and over them. I
called people like Pat Taylor to call Hightower. I mean we used
everybody, I mean, we've been doing it for years, we just haven't gotten
credit for it. If I was to pull out my phone bill, you'd see . . . my
phone bill one month was three hundred dollars. We raised money,
fortunately, we raised money, so, I didn't have to pay for this one,
although I've paid for plenty. I imagine that I called at least six
hundred dollars worth. And see, we had she's a Republican woman, and he
was assigned to her, and she reported back to here that Locke, no. See
here, I marked on this, this one is signed yes. See, we sent out things
and over fifty per cent of them were signed yes
before they walked in the door. We know who signed and then who
chickened, which is a kind word for it. At any rate, here they are,
signed "yes", signed "yes", . . .
- BELINDA RIGGSBEE:
-
Would you comment on Mike Mullins and Gordon Allen backing out at the
last minute.
- MARTHA C. McKAY:
-
O.K. Just let me finish this. So, we had done all that work, as you can
see, and so we were fearful. However, we went to work on the Senate and
we didn't have but about five days. And we worked like dogs and we had
it. When they walked in there, we had it twenty-five, twenty-five. And
they knew it.
- BELINDA RIGGSBEE:
-
And you believe that you had it.
- MARTHA C. McKAY:
-
We did have it. We had it in committments. We can't help it if they are
liars. You know, they're not honorable men. Gordon Allen wrote a
constituent and said, "I intend to vote, I haven't made up my
mind all those times, but now I intend to vote, when it comes up, for
ERA." And he wrote that the weekend before. On Saturday night
before that vote, we had it. As a matter of fact, we had it twenty-seven
on Saturday night. Well, two that had been kind of wavering, flaked out
before Wednesday.
- BELINDA RIGGSBEE:
-
Who were they.
- MARTHA C. McKAY:
-
One of those that we thought we had a chance with was Barker. The
Democrat Barker from Wake County. And he flaked out. We found out that
morning, and somebody else that we thought we had flaked
out.
- BELINDA RIGGSBEE:
-
But, that still would have been twenty-five.
- MARTHA C. McKAY:
-
When they walked in the door, it was twenty-five, twenty-five. Mullins
had given his committment, and so had Gordon Allen. In writing. So, I
had exactly . . . see, you understand that the issue of the Equal Rights
Amendment had nothing to do with it. Gordon Allen did not want to make
Jim Hunt a hero. Hunt had already announced that he was going to break
the tie. Right.
- BELINDA RIGGSBEE:
-
In favor of it.
- MARTHA C. McKAY:
-
That's right. And by that time, Allen must have realized that every woman
who had ever worked in politics, practically, was for the ERA. Every
organization. The women who worked the system were for ERA. The ones who
were against it, we never heard of them before or since. The woman who
headed it up was a proud and avowed member of the John Birch Society.
And they don't run politics in North Carolina. So, I think that it was
very simple. Gordon Allen did not want to make Jimmy Hunt a hero. And
again, he went over . . . I saw him go over to Deane, Charlie Deane and
Kneel down and start talking to him on the floor. And then I saw Charlie
put his head down and of course, what he was doing was telling him that
he was going to change his vote.
[END OF TAPE 1, SIDE B]
[TAPE 2, SIDE A]
[START OF TAPE 2, SIDE A]
- MARTHA C. McKAY:
-
. . . if I had been Charlie and I don't criticize Charlie, everybody has
to operate in his or her own way. But I would have
said, "Gordon, you gave me your word and I'm really going to
ask you to keep it." That's part of the rules, too, you can do
that. He hadn't released him. Of course, it's usual that people do
release people, but with a twenty-five, twenty-five, I would have said,
"Sorry Gordon, I've helped you on this bill and that bill and I
want you to, I'm asking you, I will not release you." I figure
myself, that Mullins would never have had the nerve to switch if Allen
hadn't switched. He was a freshman and I may be wrong, but I figure that
he wouldn't have.
- BELINDA RIGGSBEE:
-
Well, was there any visible signs with Mullins, like you say the way that
Gordon Allen went over and talked to Charlie Deane?
- MARTHA C. McKAY:
-
No, because you see, Mullins is a Republican and I tell you the truth, I
don't know who was keeping up with the Republicans. Taylor was with us,
Charles Taylor. He was the minority leader. I guess he still is. See, I
had him marked "o.k." At any rate, I don't know, I
can't say. I feel myself that if Allen had not . . . and you see, I
think that Alford is the first name and Allen is the second, he's second
name called and I question whether or not Mullins would have gotten up
there and been the one to cause the defeat of the Equal Rights
Amendment. But I think that Gordon's reasons are very, very simple. He
has had an interest, so it is said, in running for governor. We all know
that Jimmy Hunt is running for governor and it would have made Jimmy
Hunt a hero.