ACTION REQUIRED
The ERA, or the Equal Rights Amendment resolution is: “Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for men and women”, reads, in part:[1]
“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.
“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.”
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its ratification status has long been debated. It was written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman and first introduced in Congress in December 1923.
A Short History
With the rise of the women’s movement in the United States during the 1960s, the ERA garnered increasing support, and, after being reintroduced by Representative Martha Griffiths in 1971, it was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives that year, and by the U.S. Senate in 1972, thus submitting the ERA to the state legislatures for ratification, as provided by Article Five of the United States Constitution. A seven-year, 1979, deadline was included with the legislation by Congress. A simple majority of Congress later extended the deadline to 1982. Both deadlines passed with the ERA three short of the necessary 38 states for ratification. Even so, there are ongoing efforts to ratify the amendment.
The Present
On December 15, 2024, a group of over 120 Democrats in the House of Representatives, led by Representatives Cori Bush (D-Missouri) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts), sent a letter to outgoing President Joe Biden, arguing that both the deadlines and the revocations were illegitimate, meaning the ERA had been successfully ratified by 38 states, and urging Biden to direct the Archivist of the United States to certify the amendment as part of the Constitution immediately. President Biden directed the Archivist of the United States to certify the amendment as his last action in office, January 17, 2025.
Biden declaration
On January 17, 2025, President Biden declared that, in his opinion, the Equal Rights Amendment was the law of the land, stating:
“It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.”[216]
The declaration has no formal effect, however,[217][218] and the National Archives has said they do not intend to certify the amendment as part of the Constitution, citing “established legal, judicial, and procedural decisions” supporting the integrity of the original ratification deadline in the absence of any subsequent extension or deadline removal by Congress or the court system.[219] Biden’s statement led to widespread criticism,[220][221][222] with the Washington Post‘s analysis concluding “it’s also remarkable that a president would try to declare something that isn’t clearly the law to be not just the law, but part of the most significant legal document our country has. That at the very least skips over a whole lot of very valid legal issues that have never been settled.”
ACTION
Contact the White House and ask President Trump to take action on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) by instructing the US Archivist to certify the 28th Amendment. Here are five things you can do.
- Call the White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111 (Open Tuesday–Thursday from 10:00 am–2:00 pm CT)
- Send an email to the White House
- Sign the League of Women Voters letter
- Contact your US Representative and US Senators and urge them to pressure President Trump
- Share this with your friends!
SAMPLE MESSAGE
I urge President Trump to instruct the US Archivist to certify the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA has met all requirements for ratification. Women’s rights are under attack. The president has the authority to act and must do so with urgency.
Then what?
In the United States, women are still not guaranteed equal rights. We have seen the devastating consequences of this reality. Yet, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which will update the US Constitution to protect the equality of rights under the law regardless of sex, can be added to the Constitution with one action. With just months left in office, we are urging President Biden to act to ensure that the ERA is published.
The ERA will protect against the rollback of rights, provide a vital tool for the judicial branch to decide sex discrimination cases, and pave the way for further legislative progress toward sex and gender equality.
The 2024 election results were not friendly to women’s equality, and our future status in the country is at stake. It’s imperative that President Trump take urgent action to ensure the process of publishing the Amendment is completed since it has been fully ratified since 2020.
Urge President Trump to instruct the US Archivist to certify and publish the ERA in the Constitution! Equality cannot wait.
Most of this data is from League of Women Voters and Wikipedia sources.