President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Attorney General Merrick Garland have expressed concern over women’s rights. They’ve offered their thoughts and prayers. But is there something else, something in the Constitution, to protect women — and all Americans — from sex discrimination under the law?
The Equal Rights Amendment is our 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The ERA provides: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” The ERA meets the strict requirements of our Constitution to be added. Specifically, the ERA was passed by over a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress in 1972. Then it was ratified by three-quarters — or 38 of 50 — of the states in 2020. That is all that is required under Article V of the Constitution for an amendment.
The ERA has not been officially published. In 2020, publication of the amendment was blocked by a politically motivated, erroneous legal opinion issued by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice. The Trump DOJ referenced an expired “deadline” as its excuse.
