America can't move forward by pushing women backward

In 1920, Tennessee became the final state to ratify the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote. Generations fought to be recognized as full citizens — not dependents whose voices belonged to husbands or fathers.

Today, that hard-won right is being questioned. Christian nationalists calling to replace the 19th Amendment with “household voting” are joined by far-right and manosphere influencers arguing women should be subordinate to men and denied their vote. Different ideologies, same frightening destination: women no longer have an equal voice.

That should alarm every American.

Voting is more than casting a ballot. It gives us a voice in the laws and decisions shaping our lives.

If women lose that voice, what comes next? Our right to work? Own property? Control our money? Choose to marry or have children? Pursue an education or career? Live independently? Without political power, every other freedom becomes more vulnerable. We condemn societies where women live under male authority. Why tolerate movements pushing America in that direction?

America cannot move forward by pushing half its citizens backward. Our foremothers fought too long for us to surrender what they won.

Women are not represented by someone else’s vote. We are citizens. Our voices — our lives — are our own.

KARI SACCOMANNO

Sandpoint