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The League of Women Voters of Wilmette is actively working to make sure that the Equal Rights Amendment gets published as the 28th amendment to the US Constitution.
You can follow ERA developments on our "ERA YES" Facebook page. If you are interested in continuing to help pass ERA, please send an email to [email protected]. There is much more to do. We appreciate you! |
ERA: 100-YEAR BATTLE FOR EQUALITY
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LEGISLATION DRAFTING HISTORY
1923: suffragist Alice Paul first drafted the Equal Rights Amendment.
1972: on March 22nd, Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in the language used today. Overwhelming bipartisan majorities in both the US House (354-24) and Senate (84-8) approved of this legislation, which Congress then sent to the states for ratification. In order to be added to the Constitution, it needed approval by legislatures in three-fourths (38) of the 50 states. By 1977, 35 states had ratified the ERA. Things came to a standstill until Nevada ratified in 2017, Illinois became state 37 in 2018, and Virginia became state 38 in 2020. Having met the 38-state threshold, the ERA now needs to be published to the US Constitution as the 28th Amendment. |
Why do we need the ERA?
While women have made great strides in achieving equality under the law in the past, adding an amendment to the U.S. Constitution raises gender equality to the level of a fundamental right that cannot easily be taken away through executive actions, legislation, or judicial rulings.
The American Bar Association (ABA) stated in an August 2024 report supporting implementation of the ERA, “[u]nder the ERA, sex would be considered a suspect classification (just as race, ethnicity, and national origin are now), and claims of sex discrimination would be subject to strict judicial scrutiny.” Read the entire ABA report.
Where does the ERA stand?
The ERA has been ratified by the necessary three-fourths (38) of the states in order to become our 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution, but it has not been “published” by the United States Archivist. This has prevented the Amendment from being acknowledged as having the force of law. President Joe Biden can direct the Archivist to publish the Amendment.
Why hasn't the ERA been published?
When the ERA was proposed by Congress in 1972, Congress included in its proposing resolution a timeframe of seven years for state ratifications. The final three state ratifications occurred after that timeframe. However, the American Bar Association and many legal scholars have asserted that Congress has no authority to impose a deadline on what is clearly described in Article V of the Constitution as a states’ process. Due to a legal opinion issued by the Department of Justice in 2020, asserting that the seven years is enforceable, the Archivist has not yet published that amendment.
Some additional ERA history...
The ERA was proposed by Congress in 1972 by way of a congressional resolution that said the amendment would be valid when ratified within seven years. This language was placed in the internal congressional resolution and not in the amendment’s text. The text is what states ratify and is what actually amends the Constitution.
The Constitution does not grant Congress the power to limit the time for state ratifications. However, by custom all of the first 26 amendments added to the U.S. Constitution were ratified in under four years.
In 1992, a 27th Amendment was added to the Constitution. That amendment, known as the Congressional Pay or Madison Amendment, was drafted by James Madison, along with the ten amendments that are known as our Bill of Rights. The 27th Amendment was proposed by the First Congress and sent to the states for ratification in 1789. Ratification of the 27th Amendment by three-fourths of the states was completed some 203 years after it was first proposed!
The custom and outlook on the time for state ratifications was dramatically altered by the 27th Amendment and advocates pursued the last three ratifications of the ERA needed in order to reach 38. Nevada ratified in 2017; Illinois in 2018; and Virginia in 2020.
The LWVUS and League chapters from all 50 states and the District of Columbia sent a letter (8/23/2024) to members of Congress and the Administration urging the immediate publication of the ERA in the US Constitution. Read the LWV statement in support of finalizing true legal equality for women under the law.
While women have made great strides in achieving equality under the law in the past, adding an amendment to the U.S. Constitution raises gender equality to the level of a fundamental right that cannot easily be taken away through executive actions, legislation, or judicial rulings.
The American Bar Association (ABA) stated in an August 2024 report supporting implementation of the ERA, “[u]nder the ERA, sex would be considered a suspect classification (just as race, ethnicity, and national origin are now), and claims of sex discrimination would be subject to strict judicial scrutiny.” Read the entire ABA report.
Where does the ERA stand?
The ERA has been ratified by the necessary three-fourths (38) of the states in order to become our 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution, but it has not been “published” by the United States Archivist. This has prevented the Amendment from being acknowledged as having the force of law. President Joe Biden can direct the Archivist to publish the Amendment.
Why hasn't the ERA been published?
When the ERA was proposed by Congress in 1972, Congress included in its proposing resolution a timeframe of seven years for state ratifications. The final three state ratifications occurred after that timeframe. However, the American Bar Association and many legal scholars have asserted that Congress has no authority to impose a deadline on what is clearly described in Article V of the Constitution as a states’ process. Due to a legal opinion issued by the Department of Justice in 2020, asserting that the seven years is enforceable, the Archivist has not yet published that amendment.
Some additional ERA history...
The ERA was proposed by Congress in 1972 by way of a congressional resolution that said the amendment would be valid when ratified within seven years. This language was placed in the internal congressional resolution and not in the amendment’s text. The text is what states ratify and is what actually amends the Constitution.
The Constitution does not grant Congress the power to limit the time for state ratifications. However, by custom all of the first 26 amendments added to the U.S. Constitution were ratified in under four years.
In 1992, a 27th Amendment was added to the Constitution. That amendment, known as the Congressional Pay or Madison Amendment, was drafted by James Madison, along with the ten amendments that are known as our Bill of Rights. The 27th Amendment was proposed by the First Congress and sent to the states for ratification in 1789. Ratification of the 27th Amendment by three-fourths of the states was completed some 203 years after it was first proposed!
The custom and outlook on the time for state ratifications was dramatically altered by the 27th Amendment and advocates pursued the last three ratifications of the ERA needed in order to reach 38. Nevada ratified in 2017; Illinois in 2018; and Virginia in 2020.
The LWVUS and League chapters from all 50 states and the District of Columbia sent a letter (8/23/2024) to members of Congress and the Administration urging the immediate publication of the ERA in the US Constitution. Read the LWV statement in support of finalizing true legal equality for women under the law.
RATIFICATION HISTORY
1972: 22 states ratified ERA. These were Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
1973: 8 more states ratified ERA. These were Connecticut, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming.
1974: 3 additional states ratified ERA. These were Maine, Montana, and Ohio.
1975: North Dakota ratified ERA.
1977: Indiana ratified ERA.
2017: Nevada ratified ERA.
2018: Illinois ratified ERA on May 30th, making it the 37th state!
2020: Virginia ratified ERA on January 27th, becoming the 38th state to do so, thereby meeting the constitutionally-required threshold for becoming a Constitutional amendment. However, in light of questions about the amount of time elapsed between the original proposal and final state ratification, the Archivist of the US refused to record and certify Virginia’s ratification and publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution. Shortly thereafter, Illinois, Nevada and Virginia filed suit to compel the US Archivist to certify and publish the ERA.
2022: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with attorneys general from Nevada and Virginia, filed a brief on Jan 3, 2022 with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The brief appeals the decision of a lower court judge last March to dismiss their lawsuit to compel certification of the ERA. On January 10, LWVIL joined more than 20 organizations from Illinois, Nevada and Virginia in a supporting amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in support of the case. Eleven other supporting briefs were filed the same day, representing more than one hundred corporations, constitutional scholars, and coalitions.
1973: 8 more states ratified ERA. These were Connecticut, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming.
1974: 3 additional states ratified ERA. These were Maine, Montana, and Ohio.
1975: North Dakota ratified ERA.
1977: Indiana ratified ERA.
2017: Nevada ratified ERA.
2018: Illinois ratified ERA on May 30th, making it the 37th state!
2020: Virginia ratified ERA on January 27th, becoming the 38th state to do so, thereby meeting the constitutionally-required threshold for becoming a Constitutional amendment. However, in light of questions about the amount of time elapsed between the original proposal and final state ratification, the Archivist of the US refused to record and certify Virginia’s ratification and publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution. Shortly thereafter, Illinois, Nevada and Virginia filed suit to compel the US Archivist to certify and publish the ERA.
2022: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with attorneys general from Nevada and Virginia, filed a brief on Jan 3, 2022 with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The brief appeals the decision of a lower court judge last March to dismiss their lawsuit to compel certification of the ERA. On January 10, LWVIL joined more than 20 organizations from Illinois, Nevada and Virginia in a supporting amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in support of the case. Eleven other supporting briefs were filed the same day, representing more than one hundred corporations, constitutional scholars, and coalitions.
LWVUS POSITION IN BRIEF |
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