#Repealthe19th: What is at Risk for Women?

By Tiffany Cobb

A controversial new hashtag is being used by Donald Trump supporters who are willing to do anything to see the candidate in the Presidential office. The controversy arose when a map looking at the difference between men and women voters appeared on Twitter. If women were the only voters, Hillary Clinton would win the election. If men were the only voters, the winner would be Donald Trump. With this information, Trump supporters supposedly advocate the government repealing the 19th Amendment, the amendment that gives women the right to vote.

The 19th Amendment joined the United States Constitution in 1920. It established women as equals in the eyes of the government, or at least in regards to having a say in the policies that help rule the country and the people who enforce and create them.

Trump supporters hope to repeal the 19th Amendment, taking away women’s suffrage in the United States. However, it is not just men who expect to diminish this amendment. Some women, who stand behind Trump also tweet #repealthe19th, are willing to give up their right in their country’s politics so that their first choice for President has a better chance to win the election. Some may say this is a noble act, others may say that it is unwise. However, to these women this is the right choice.

Taking the 19th amendment out of the Constitution is taking a step back and undoing the process of equality fought for over the past century. Women seen as less than men, will drive society back into the early 20th century. Not only would it create a social imbalance, it would also take away the voice of the female population. Women in the United States are a large part of the population who live in the United States, pay their taxes, and are held to the standard of the law but would not have a say in the law or who enforces them.

Everyone has their own opinions on Donald Trump, whether they love him or hate him. One thing to keep in mind, though, is whether or not the reassurance of having Trump in the Presidential Office is worth undoing a century’s worth of work towards equality.

Credit: FiveThirtyEight
Credit: FiveThirtyEight
Credit: FiveThirtyEight
Credit: FiveThirtyEight

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