THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT.

The text of the Equal Rights Amendment, as passed by over 2/3rds of Congress and ratified by 38 state legislatures, states:

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.​

Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

WHY DO WE NEED THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT?

Legal discrimination on the basis of sex is not a concept of the past. We experience gender injustice in our day-to-day lives that could be remedied by the Equal Rights Amendment. Furthermore, the progress of the past 60 years is not irreversible. Take the overturning of Roe v. Wade for example. Here are a few of the things the Equal Rights Amendment will do once adopted:

  1. The ERA would provide a clear judicial standard for deciding cases of sex discrimination. The equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment was first applied to sex discrimination only in 1971, and it has never been interpreted to grant equal rights on the basis of sex in the uniform and inclusive way that the ERA would.

  2. The ERA would protect access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion, federally and at the state level. The Supreme Court’s egregious disregard for precedent in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization—the case which reversed Roe v. Wade—reflects the precarious nature of many constitutional protections. We need a constitutional guarantee of sex equality to make it clear abortion is protected by our Constitution. State level ERAs have already been used successfully to invalidate abortion restrictions in Utah, Minnesota, and most recently Pennsylvania. Recent attacks on mifepristone (medication abortion), which came dangerously close to being successful, further demonstrate the necessity of the ERA. Reproductive autonomy is a fundamental aspect of gender justice, which the ERA will work to ensure. Learn more about the ERA and abortion from our friends at the ERA Project at Columbia Law School.

  3. The Equal Rights Amendment will expand protections for queer and transgender folks. Queer youth, especially, are increasingly the focal point of hateful legislative attacks in the form of Don’t Say Gay bills and restrictions on trans-affirming healthcare. Just this term, the Supreme Court held that religious liberties supersede LGBTQ people’s right to exist in Elenis v. 303 Creative. Federal courts have held repeatedly that limitations on sex discrimination extend to sexual orientation and gender identity (Bostock v. Clayton County). The stronger sex protections we have in our Constitution, the greater the protections for LGBTQ+ people. Read this article by queer ERA scholar Kate Kelly on why the ERA is queer. Then, check out this resource from our friends at the ERA Project.

  4. The ERA will work to combat inequities seen in education. We live in a country where young women and LGBTQIA+ youth's access to a meaningful education remains hindered, including by sexual harassment and sexual assault, archaic gender-based stereotypes, and even the inability to access necessary menstrual hygiene products. Title IX, which is determined by whoever is in the White House, has repeatedly failed women and trans people. We need a permanent, strong tool to ensure one’s gender identity does not determine their educational experience.

  5. The ERA would provide a strong legal defense against a rollback of the significant advances in gender equality that have been achieved since the mid–20th century. Legislation such as Title IX, Violence Against Women Act, the Fair Pensions Act, and the Paycheck Fairness Act, pieces of legislation that would work to achieve social, political, and economic equality for all genders, have been opposed, weakened, and even overturned.

  6. The Equal Rights Amendment will advance economic justice. The ERA will chip away at discriminatory policies women and queer people face in the workplace. Whether its discriminatory hiring practices, pay inequity, workplace harassment, unpaid parental leave, or unequal representation in boardrooms, the Equal Rights Amendment will be a tool to fight for the economic security and freedom of women and LGBTQ+ people.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE ERA?

The Equal Rights Amendment has fulfilled all requirements outlined in Article V of the Constitution necessary for publication–passage by a supermajority (⅔) of both chambers of Congress and ratification by the state legislatures of 38 (¾) states. In 1972, Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment with far greater than supermajorities in both chambers. In 2017, Nevada became the 36th state to ratify the ERA, and the first to ratify in over 45 years. Illinois and Virginia followed suit in 2018 and 2020, respectively, becoming the final states needed to clear the 38 state hurdle. Now, it is the Executive Branch’s duty (aka Biden) to publish the ERA in the Constitution.

The sitting National Archivist, David Ferriero refused to publish the ERA because of a Trump-era Department of Justice (DOJ) memorandum that declared the ERA invalid because of a 7-year deadline placed on its ratification. When Congress passed the ERA in 1972, they placed an arbitrary deadline of 7-years. This was extended by 3-years in 1979. However, there is nothing in the Constitution about deadlines. Constitutional scholars, like Laurence Tribe, agree that the Equal Rights Amendment should be recognized as the 28th Amendment. Deadlines are arbitrary, and Presidet Biden should instruct the now National Archivist, Colleen Shogan, to publish the Equal Rights Amendment.

Under President Biden, the DOJ clarified its position and stated that Congress had the authority to remove the deadline. The federal courts echoed the DOJ’s stance in Illinois v. Ferriero (2023), in which the Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit deferred the decision on the ERA’s future to Congress. Although he is trying to defer his responsibility, Biden can still, by himself, publish the Equal Rights Amendment. That’s why we are using every avenue we have to pressure Biden to fulfill his constitutional duty, and put us in the Constitution.

On March 28th of 2023, Representatives Cori Bush and Ayanna Pressley launched the first ever Congressional ERA Caucus. This historic assembly of legislators marks a new and diverse generation of congressional movement leaders who are committed building a multiracial, intergenerational coalition of advocates ready to get the ERA across the finish line.

There are two resolutions in Congress to advance the Equal Rights Amendment:

  1. HJ Res 25/SJ Res 4: Rep. Pressley and Sen. Cardin’s bill that recognizes the ERA as the 28th Amendment and removes the arbitrary deadline.

  2. HJ Res 82/SJ Res 39: Rep. Bush and Sen. Gillibrand’s bill that affirms the ERA as the 28th Amendment and demands the National Archivist certify and publish immediately.

These bills represent a dual-strategy to put as much pressure as possible on President Biden to publish the Equal Rights Amendment. The Young Feminist Party endorses and organizes for both bills.

The ERA’s centennial year, 2023, was a historic for year for congressional action. This historic action was only possible because of the bold, disruptive, on-the-ground organizing of the organizers of the Young Feminist Party. Here are some of the historic wins:

  • The ERA Now resolution marks the first time ever that the ERA is being spearheaded by women in both chambers of Congress, once again affirming the growing diversity of congressional leadership. 

  • On February 28, 2023, the ERA received a hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee for the first time in over 40 years. During the hearing, constitutional scholars, activists, and legislators offered cogent social, political, and legal arguments for the validity of the ERA, and offered rebuttals against common counter arguments. The ERA then received its first vote in the Senate in over 40 years, receiving a bipartisan majority support. Although the filibuster blocked its passage, we were proud to be in attendance.

This momentum can also be seen at the state level. In November 2022, because of concerted efforts by organizers on the ground, Nevada voters adopted a comprehensive state Equal Rights Amendment to their constitution. This November, voters in New York, and likely Minnesota, too, state is attempting to ratify a state level ERA in 2024, will vote whether to adopt state Equal Rights Amendments. Join our movement today to be a part of critical organizing efforts that will realize Constitutional sex equality for millions of Americans.

WHERE ARE WE NOW?