However, things have picked up again in recent years, with Nevada ratifying the amendment in 2017, Illinois in 2018, and Virginia in 2020. Thirty-five states ratified the amendment quickly, but then momentum slowed, in part due to the work of anti-feminist advocates like Phyllis Schlafly in the mid- to late 1970s who argued that the amendment would undermine women’s role as wives and mothers, expand abortion, and even make women eligible for the draft ( supporters of the amendment argue that, actually, Congress already has the power to draft women). But because it’s a constitutional amendment, it still had to be ratified by three-quarters of the states, or 38 out of 50. First introduced in 1923, it passed Congress with bipartisan support in 1972. Section 3: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.īut these few words have been wending their way through American politics for nearly 100 years, as Vox’s Emily Stewart writes. Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Wednesday’s vote removes one obstacle to the ERA. Still, the vote Wednesday is a major step toward an amendment that, with a Democratic-controlled Congress and a new president in the White House, now stands a better chance of becoming law. It’s also likely to face a legal challenge, as the Department of Justice under President Donald Trump issued a memo stating that Congress could not revive a proposed amendment after the ratification deadline had expired. There are still many obstacles ahead the resolution needs to pass the Senate, where it will likely face Republican opposition. Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Tom Reed (R-NY), removes the deadline so that the process can move forward. The resolution passed today, introduced by Reps. But there was a problem: Congress had set a ratification deadline of 1982. Last January, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the amendment, pushing it over the finish line. The ERA passed Congress with bipartisan support in 1972 but still had to be ratified by three-quarters of the states, a process that ended up taking nearly 40 years. But the amendment has had a long road in American politics, and that road is far from ended. The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to remove a key stumbling block for the Equal Rights Amendment, which would enshrine the principle of gender equality in the US Constitution.įirst introduced in 1923, the amendment would ban discrimination on the basis of sex, paving the way for people of all genders to challenge anything from unequal pay to restrictions on abortion.