The Equal Rights Amendment was introduced in 1972, and states, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex," It needed 38 states to ratify it. The deadline was 1979, which was then pushed to 1983. Virginia became the 38th state to ratify in January of this year, 47 years after it was introduced.
"Given the controversy over the ERA, the fact that five states have rescinded their ratification, and the current ratification by the three most recent states has come a while past its deadline, the Archivist has requested an opinion from the Department of Justice," she explained.
The National Archivist ultimately records whether the amendment is law. The Department of Justice said last month that the most recent ratifications are not valid. But Ulrich says, despite that, if the two resolutions pass the House and Senate, the ERA can become law. Or Congress can re-introduce a new one and start over again.
Niles detailed what a full ratification would mean. "It will become a legal tool for women and men who have an equal pay dispute, or they haven't had equal access to maternity or paternity care," she said.
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