No fooling! It's Women's Advocacy Day

Today was April Fools' Day but it didn't jinx women across North Carolina who turned out for the annual Women's Advocacy Day, sponsored by NC Women United. Female state lawmakers including Mecklenburg Rep. Tricia Cotham used the day to push for issues important to women. That includes support for passage of the School Violence Prevention Act, the domestic violence and prevention act, and the Healthy Youth Act, a two-track system for sexuality education.

This is the 20th observance of Women's Advocacy Day. Notes state Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange: "Women and their families have made great strides in North Carolina over the last decades but we've still got a long way to go. Full equality will not be achieved until we fully address issues like access to healthcare, economic security, civic participation, and violence against women."

North Carolina hasn't always been quick to embrace women's issues. The first petition in 1897 to the North Carolina General Assembly to give women voting rightsf was referred to the legislature's committee on insane asylums. And in 1977, the General Assembly declined to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.