Congresswomen and men, both senators and representatives are working on a bi-partisan effort to add the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. Congresswomen such as Ayanna Pressley, Sylvia Garcia, Abigail Spanberger, Cori Bush, Madeleine Dean, and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, along with U.S. Senators Ben Cardin, Lisa Murkowski, Dick Durbin, and Mazie Hirono announced a resolution put forth by the Senate and House of Representatives late last month to help breach the barrier that has been preventing the ERA from appearing in the Constitution.
A milestone for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was reached in 2020, and then the real work began to get it added to the U.S. Constitution. First introduced to Congress 100 years ago, the ERA has reached its ratification quota of 38 or three-fourths of the states.
Initially proposed in 1923 by the National Woman’s Party, the ERA is meant to provide legal equality for all sexes and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. In today’s world, it will seek much more than that.
Although its inception was nearly 100 years ago, three years after women were granted the right to vote by the Nineteenth Amendment, the ERA didn’t gain any traction until the 1970s due to opposition. In October of 1971 it won the necessary two-thirds vote from the House of Representatives under the sponsorship of U.S. Representative Bella Abzug of New York and feminists Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. It was finally approved by the U.S. Senate in March 1972, and sent to the states for ratification.
Initially. Congress had set a seven-year deadline for ratification, but in 1979, Congress extended the deadline to 1982. However, only 35 (not the requisite 38 states ratified. Anti-ERA activists presented a formidable opposition to the amendment stalling this vital expansion of civil rights. Then in 2017, Nevada became the first state to ratify the ERA since 1977, with Illinois following suit in 2018, and Virginia picking up the last spot in 2020, making the ratification of 38 states complete– nearly 40 years after the deadline.
While the constitutional requirements for the ratification of the amendment were met, the issue has now become whether it can be passed because the initial deadline set by Congress. Congresswomen and men, both senators and representatives are working on a bi-partisan effort to add the ERA to the Constitution. Congresswomen such as Ayanna Pressley, Sylvia Garcia, Abigail Spanberger, Cori Bush, Madeleine Dean, and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, along with U.S. Senators Ben Cardin, Lisa Murkowski, Dick Durbin, and Mazie Hirono announced a resolution put forth by the Senate and House of Representatives late last month to help breach the barrier that has been preventing the ERA from appearing in the Constitution. After the ratification requirements are met, an amendment becomes official when the U.S. Archivist ensures that the new amendment fulfills the requirements set forth in Article V of the Constitution; once certified he then issues a formal proclamation. However, after Virginia’s ratification of the ERA, the U.S. Archivist declined to certify the amendment based on the OLC’s opinion– even though the ratifications of Illinois, Virginia, and Nevada had already been accepted. This original, harbitrary deadline barrier is one that current policymakers are seeking to fight. Aside from this, there are a few states that are looking to rescind their support, though Congress says it is not permitted and such retractions are not being supported at this time.
Lawmakers pushing for the inclusion of this amendment to the Constitution argue that the deadlines Congress creates, are barriers. Senator Cardin commented on the time limit and the role of Congress, saying, “There should be no time limit on equality. Ratification of the 28th amendment is complete. Most Americans already think it is a part of the Constitution. Congress needs to finish its job. I’m proud to work with the ERA coalition, Senator Murkowski, Congresswoman Pressley, and all our colleagues on finally enshrining the ERA into the Constitution and advancing true legal equality on the basis of sex.” The joint resolution for “Removing the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment” reads as follows, “Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives the United States of America in Congress assembled, That notwithstanding any time limit contained in House Joint Resolution 208, 92nd Congress, as agreed to proposed to the States in that joint resolution is valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution, having been ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States.”
The removal of the deadline will allow the U.S. Archivist to certify the ERA and acknowledge its inclusion. Moreover, the ERA, if enacted, will provide significant protections to marginalized groups and can be used as a piece of legislation to prevent discrimination in the future. Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation spoke about the constitutional requirements for the ERA and condemning the blockades:
“The Equal Rights Amendment has met all the constitutional requirements for the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The Department of Justice is not part of the amending process, and Trump’s DOJ should not have thrown up that procedural blockade. The national archivist’s duty is to certify the ERA as the 28th Amendment. This barrier is a large one; but even recently retired Democratic representative, Brenda Lawrence, has acknowledged the lack of support on the Republican side. “Not many male Republicans are showing support for the ERA. How can they look their mothers and their daughters in the face and say, as a Republican, I feel women should not have equal rights?”
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley released a statement to Sampan commenting:
“Women continue to be subjected to second-class legal status by the courts and in the law – especially Black, Brown, LGBTQ+, Indigenous, and disabled women. My mother, may she rest in peace and power, had shared with me her experiences training men who were paid more and promoted over her; and as a Black woman who also experiences the daily indignities of an unjust society, I know how transformative the ERA will be for millions across the country. Constitutional equality is a powerful thing, and by passing our resolution to affirm the ratification of the ERA, we will finally enshrine gender equality in our Constitution and provide a new tool to advance equality in the fields of workforce and pay, pregnancy discrimination, reproductive autonomy, protections for women, LGBTQ+ folks, and more.”
The changes that will be created and the history that will be made will be remarkable. From healthcare rights for women to rights for LGBTQIA people, immigrants, indigenous, disabled, and people of color, this amendment will ensure that none will be discriminated against and will support those who are currently being discriminated against. Even New York State is amending its state constitution and it will be voted on in the November 2024 election to include the ERA. In a time when many civil liberties are being eroded based purely on discrimination, those who fight for civil rights are fighting hard for the ERA.
