Question: the equal rights amendment banned discrimination based on which of these

title: Equal Rights Amendment
text: Opponents of the ERA focused on traditional gender roles , such as how men do the fighting in wartime . They argued that the amendment would eliminate the men - only draft requirement and guarantee the possibility that women would be subject to conscription and be required to have military combat roles in future wars if it were passed . Defense of traditional gender roles proved to be a useful tactic . In Illinois , supporters of Phyllis Schlafly , a conservative Republican activist from Illinois , used traditional symbols of the American housewife . They took homemade bread , jams , and apple pies to the state legislators , with the slogans , `` Preserve us from a congressional jam ; Vote against the ERA sham '' and `` I am for Mom and apple pie . '' They appealed to married women by stressing that the amendment would repeal protective laws such as alimony and eliminate the tendency for mothers to obtain custody over their children in divorce cases . It was suggested that single - sex bathrooms would be eliminated and same - sex couples would be able to get married if the amendment were passed . Traditional women started to oppose the ERA . Schlafly said the ERA was designed for the benefit of young career women and warned that if men and women had to be treated identically it would threaten the security of middle - aged housewives with no job skills . They could no longer count on alimony or Social Security . Opponents also argued that men and women were already equal enough with the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , and that women 's colleges would have to admit men . Her argument that protective laws would be lost resonated with working - class women . Phyllis