On March 22, 1972, the U.S. Senate passed the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. The Equal Rights Amendment banned discrimination on the basis of gender. As is law, once the amendment passed in the Senate, it was sent to the states to be ratified. 35 of the required 38 states ratified, but the amendment failed to be added in the end.
The proposed amendment was first written in 1923 by Alice Paul. Though the language has changed slightly, the idea remains the same: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.” It wasn’t until March 1972 that the amendment was brought before the Senate and the House and passed. Upon its passage in Congress, a seven-year deadline was set for its ratification by ¾ of U.S. states. By the deadline, 35 of the 38 states had ratified. The deadline was extended to 1982 by a congressional bill; however, in the ensuing years, conservative and religious right Americans took up arms against the amendment, claiming that it would open the door to gender-neutral bathrooms and same-sex marriage. The deadline passed, and the amendment was three states short of being ratified.
In 1992, the 27th Amendment, often called the Madison Amendment after its author, was added to the Constitution. This Amendment, which prohibits members of Congress from giving themselves pay raises during the current session, had been passed by Congress in 1789 but was not ratified until 1992. While this amendment did not have a time limit attached, its passage still opened up legal precedent for old ratifications to continue to hold power. In 2017, the state of Nevada ratified the amendment. Illinois followed the next year. In 2020, Virginia became the 38th and final state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Constitutional scholars argue that upon this ratification, the Equal Rights Amendment became an official part of the Constitution, however, the final step, which requires the U.S. Archivist to publish the amendment along with the ratification documents has never been done. Unfortunately, the entire matter is embroiled in legal conflict, and no decisions have been made.
A 2022 survey done by the Data for Progress organization showed that 85% of Americans, including 93% of Democrats, 79% of Independents, and 79% of Republicans support Congress in passing the Equal Rights Amendment. However, efforts in Congress have been blocked by Republican leadership, leaving women in 2024 with no guaranteed Constitutional rights other than that of the vote. May they use it wisely.
Learn more here:
- https://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq
- https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/equal-rights-amendment-explained?utm_medium=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&utm_source=PANTHEON_STRIPPED
- https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2022/6/2/fifty-years-later-voters-support-passing-the-equal-rights-amendment
