What is the Equal Rights Amendment?

Did you know that the Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.) is still not a part of the Constitution?

The Equal Rights Amendment (the 28th Amendment) went into force on Jan. 27th, 2022; however, new printings of the Constitution will not include a 28th Amendment and the Supreme Court will not treat it as part of the nation's fundamental law. This is because David Ferriero, the U.S. Archivist, has declined to certify the E.R.A. despite his legal obligation to do so whenever an amendment has satisfied "the provisions of the Constitution". In order to satisfy these requirements, two-thirds of both houses of Congress must approve it, followed by its ratification from three-quarters of the United States of America. The E.R.A. easily passed Congress in the early 1970s and has been ratified by 38 states (out of 50) when the last three states –? Nevada, Illinois and Virginia – all ratified after 2016, spurred by the election of Donald Trump.

So, why won't Ferriero do his job?

Ferriero's refusal to certify the E.R.A. is based on a 2020 memo by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal advice to the executive branch, that contented the E.R.A. is no longer valid because it failed to meet the seven-year deadline that Congress initially set as well as its extended deadline in 1982.?

Congress does not have the power to set a time limit for ratification, and yet, Congress has been doing so since the 18th Amendment, which introduced Prohibition and was ratified in 1919. That said, 10 years after the E.R.A. failed to get ratified in 1982, a 200-year-old amendment was certified as the 27th Amendment to the Constitution despite substantial legal controversy. As far as the Constitution is concerned, as long as a proposed amendment is passed by two-thirds of Congress and ratified by three-quarters of the states, the amendment is eligible to be certified as part of the Constitution.?

If one insight has been shared amongst this controversy, it is that the process for changing the Constitution is filled with ambiguities; however, the founding fathers created the Constitution with the intention that it is an adaptable framework for an ever-growing and changing society rather than as a sacred text from another era. This intention has been honored since its inception centuries ago. 40 percent of the Constitution we live under in 2022 consists of amendments.

If the Constitution is intended to be regularly updated to suit the needs of modern society, why is it so difficult to get this amendment into such a foundational document?

The short answer: control.?

Today's opponents of the E.R.A. see the measure as a threat to state laws that restrict or prohibit a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy – that the ERA would allow for legal recognition of women’s rights to bodily autonomy and allow women to bring any injustices that threaten their autonomy to court.?

The almost 100-year struggle to put the words "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex" is indicative of the power and control men continue to influence over women. The so-called "leaders"of today are contributing to the ongoing gendered-injustices that are happening every single day.

As a word of warning, we will leave you with thoughts from Abigail Adams, written in a letter to her husband, John Adams, on the night of March 31st, 1776:?

"Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember all men would be tyrants if they could...If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation."

Follow the ERA Coalition for the latest calls to action and tell your representatives to recognize the ERA as the 28th Amendment by passing H Res 891 via this link .

Thank you to nRhythm's Traci Wallace and The New York Times for their insights, framing and knowledge.