STATE OF NEW JERSEY CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1947
COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES, AMENDMENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Tuesday, July 8, 1947 (Morning session)
(The session began at 11:00 A. M.)
The fifth meeting of the Committee on Rights, Privileges, Amendments and Miscellaneous Provisions was held in Room No. 5 of the Music Building.
PRESENT: Carey, Delaney, Ferry, Glass, Katzenbach, Park, Pursel, Randolph, Schenk, Stanger and Taylor.
Chairman John F. Schenk presided.
The minutes of the meeting of June 24 were approved as submitted.
The Chairman distributed various briefs to the committee members for study which had been received by him from individuals and organizations.
Miss May M. Lyons, of West Orange, New Jersey, representing the Legal Status of Women Committee of the New Jersey Bar Association, appeared at this time together with Miss Mary Philbrook, of Tenafly, New Jersey. Miss Lyons proceeded to read a recommendation adopted by the New Jersey State Bar Association proposing that a clause be placed in the new Constitution which will embody the principle that no distinction shall be created between the rights of men and women to vote, to hold office, or to enjoy equally all civil, political, religious and economic rights and privileges, and urged its adoption as necessary to clarify and establish the legal status of women.1 This recommendation appears in the Appendix to these Committee Proceedings.
Miss Lyons stated that the State Bar has been working on this problem for the last eight years and had taken favorable action on the principle some time ago. She urged that the Committee embody the same principle in a clause in the Constitution.
The Chairman asked the committee members if there were any questions. There was some discussion as to whether women actually lack rights that men have, and Miss Lyons pointed out that the rights women have are not by virtue of the Constitution, and there-
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