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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:
• 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 1, following House passage of HJ Res 17, to clarify that the Equal Rights Amendment has fulfilled all requirements to be added to the U.S. Constitution, regardless of the 7-year time limit added to the Amendment’s preamble.
• Passage of H. Res 891, a new Congressional resolution affirming the validity of the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Introduction and passage will also be pursued in the Senate.
