Equal Rights Amendment – ERA Ratification

ERA Coalition for Equal Rights Amendment

Zonta USA is a Member of the ERA Coalition

Explore the Coalition Website for Resources and Up to date information

Take Action: Fast Friday Action – Contact Representatives to Support Removal of the ERA Deadline

ERA Remove the Deadline Action
Take Action

Status of the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

The Equal Rights Amendment is valid as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The Equal Rights Amendment is valid as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The Equal Rights Amendment has satisfied all requirements set forth in Article V of the Constitution to  be added as the 28th Amendment. The ERA was passed through Congress with well over the required  2/3 majority vote and sent to the states in 1972. On January 27, 2020, Virginia voted to become the 38th and last needed- state to meet the 3/4 state ratification requirement. According to Section 3 of the  Equal Rights Amendment, which stipulates a two-year waiting period from the date of ratification, the  ERA is now officially in effect.

Enforcing the Equal Rights Amendment

The 28th Amendment will immediately be used to:

  • Provide a stronger constitutional basis for prohibiting sex discrimination in the Courts.
  • Provide Congress more authority to pass legislation to enact laws to ensure sex equality.
  • Require states to update their state statutes and administrative code for compliance with the  28th Amendment.

Continued Clarification Efforts

Although the efforts to clarify the 28th Amendment’s validity are not necessary, they are being pursued  to remove any ambiguity as to the status of its ratification.
Concerns about the Amendment’s ratification are being raised because of the 7-year time limit in its  preamble and the fact that 5 states have attempted to rescind their prior ratifications. As a result of an  OLC memo issued under the previous Trump Administration in anticipation of Virginia’s ratification, the  Amendment has yet to be published by the Archivist.

Updated 2/3/22 with

Zonta USA and the ERA Coalition  will continue to pursue the following campaigns:

Archivist MUST Publish Pressuring the Department of Justice and the Biden Administration to clear the way for the  Archivist to publish the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the U.S.  Constitution.

Publication of the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by  the Archivist.

• Passage of SJ Res 4, House passage of HJ Res 25, to clarify that the Equal Rights  Amendment has fulfilled all requirements to be added to the U.S. Constitution, and to formally remove the  7-year time limit added to the Amendment’s preamble

Steps to Ratify the ERA

  • DONE: 38 States to Ratify

  • Remove the Deadline for Ratification in the House and Senate

  • Send it to the Supreme Court

  • WIN Equal Rights for Women Under the constitution

Ratify the ERA

Equal Rights Amendment -Three State Strategy

38 states have ratified. Virginia ratified the ERA in Jan 2020, Illinois ratified the ERA in June 2018.   Nevada ratified the Equal Rights Amendment in March 2017. Additionally, several more states are still working to ratify.

 Lawsuits have been filed to ensure the Archivist recognizes the ratification. 5 State Atty Generals have challenged the ratification with a lawsuit arguing the deadline has passed. 3 State Atty Generals have filed a lawsuit demanding certification of the amendment. And a coalition of groups have filed a lawsuit to argue the original deadline unconstitutional.

Zonta Clubs across the US are working to help with state level ratification, and to encourage their Senators and House Representatives to cosponsor the bills to remove the deadline for Ratification.

More on the Legal Strategy behind this approach.

The 12 15 States that Have Not Ratified the Equal Rights Amendment

Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
Nevada
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Utah
Virginia

Why we need the ERA

 

 ERA Guarantees Rights

The Equal Rights Amendment will guarantee equal status under the law and provide bedrock legal protection when women—or men—face sex discrimination. Protection would cover:
• Lack of equal pay for equal work
• Pregnancy discrimination
• Violence against women
• Other forms of sex discrimination

State laws are not uniform.
and federal laws are not comprehensive.

These laws can be, and often have been, weakened or repealed by a single vote.

Use the ERA Toolkit! Write a letter, make a call, raise some noise.

Remove the Deadline for ERA ratification:

38 States are needed, then Congress can remove the deadline.

Senate:  Senate Joint Resolution 2 (S.J. Res. 2)

Lead sponsor: Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

Text:

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That notwithstanding any time limit contained in House Joint Resolution 208, 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972, the article of amendment 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.

Click HERE to read the bill, and see which U. S. Senators have signed on as a co-sponsors.


House of Representatives:  House Joint Resolution 25 (H.J. Res. 25)

Lead sponsor: Rep. Ayanna Presley
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That notwithstanding any time limit contained in House Joint Resolution 208, 92d Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972, the article of amendment proposed to the States in that joint resolution is valid to all intents and purposes as part of the United States Constitution having been ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States.

Click HERE to read the bill, and see which U. S. Representatives have signed on as a co-sponsors.


Passed in 2022- H.Res.891 – Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the article of amendment(commonly known as the “Equal Rights Amendment”) to the Constitution is valid.

Rep. Speier, Jackie [D-CA-14] (Introduced 01/28/2022)
Committees:House – Judiciary
Latest Action:House – 01/28/2022 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.  (All Actions)

Click HERE to read the bill, and see which U. S. Senators have signed on as a co-sponsors.

Call YOUR Representative

EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT TALKING POINTS

There is nothing complicated about ordinary equality.

ERA News and Updates – From our Blog

Get Your State Legislature to Affirm the ERA as the 28th Amendment

State Resolutions on the ERA… Your state should be next.   To date, California, Colorado, [...]

Join New Yorkers for Equal Rights

Zonta USA Caucus encourages all Zonta Clubs in NY State to join the the New [...]

Historic ERA Caucus Announced in US House of Representatives

Why An ERA Caucus, Why now? “For far too long, women and LGBTQ+ folks have [...]

Written Testimony from the Zonta USA Caucus on ERA

Written Testimony from the Zonta USA Caucus  Submitted by Bobbee Cardillo, Convener  For the Record [...]

Court of Appeals on ERA Suit regarding Deadline – Columbia Law

The Court of Appeals ruled yesterday on State of Virginia, Illinois and Nevada Lawsuit to [...]

Equality is Remarkably popular.

Pew Research shows ERA is popular and Equality is important to Americans. [...]

Additional ERA Resources

Good information with state by state how to get involved  www.ratifyera.org

ERA Coalition Website on The Equal Rights Amendment

Facts about the Equal Rights Amendment”

 “Why we Need ERA” – “Myths and Facts About the Equal Rights Amendment”

Women’s Rights Are Human Rights Quotes

LWV ERA toolkit, including FAQ’s, Letter to the Editor, Press Release, Social Media and more

Additional Information:
https://www.eraaction.org

www.equalrightsamendment.org
A website created by the Alice Paul Institute in collaboration with the ERA Task Force (established 1999 of the National Council of Women”s Organizations, a non-partisan network of more than 200 women”s organizations founded in 1982 in response to the expiration of the deadline for ERA ratification.