With Virginia ratification, where does the Equal Rights Amendment go from here?

Summary

The 100th anniversary of women's right to vote marks a significant milestone in the fight for gender equality. Despite the recent ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) by Virginia, making it the 38th state, legal challenges persist. Attorney Kate Kelly discusses the historical momentum and opposition the ERA faced, the importance of removing the 1982 deadline, and debunks outdated arguments against it. She emphasizes that constitutional equality for women is essential, despite ongoing procedural and political hurdles.

Takeaways

• 🗳️ The 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in the U.S. coincides with Virginia ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
• 📜 The ERA, first introduced in the 1920s, aims to ensure equal rights regardless of sex in the U.S. Constitution.
• 🚀 The ERA gained significant support in the 1970s, with 30 states ratifying it quickly after Congress passed it.
• 🕰️ Despite early momentum, the ERA's progress slowed due to cultural opposition and an imposed 1982 deadline.
• 🗺️ Virginia's recent ratification makes it the 38th state to approve the ERA, meeting the three-fourths requirement of the states.
• ⚖️ Legal challenges remain, particularly concerning whether the states needed to ratify by the 1982 deadline.
• 🔄 Congress originally set and extended the deadline, and there are current bills to remove it entirely.
• 💪 Many previous arguments against the ERA, like mandatory military service for women, are now outdated and moot.
• 👩‍⚖️ Legal experts argue that states cannot rescind their ratification, as seen with the 14th Amendment.
• 🔍 The final inclusion of the ERA in the Constitution will depend on resolving procedural and legal challenges in the courts.

Q & A

What is the significance of the year 2020 in the context of women's rights in the United States?

The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in the United States, and it is also the year Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), meeting the Constitution's requirement for ratification by three-quarters of the states.

What was the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) introduced to achieve?

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was introduced to instill equal rights regardless of sex in the U.S. Constitution, ensuring legal equality for all citizens.

Why did the momentum for the ERA slow down after 1972?

The momentum for the ERA slowed down due to the culture wars and opposition groups like Stop ERA, founded by Phyllis Schlafly, which opposed the amendment and increased resistance in states with less infrastructure for women's rights.

What was the impact of the 1982 deadline on the ERA ratification process?

The 1982 deadline was a procedural hurdle that the ERA ratification process faced. By that deadline, the amendment was three states short of the required ratification by three-quarters of the states, which led to a halt in the process until recent developments.

What are the current procedural hurdles that still need to be overcome for the ERA to be part of the Constitution?

The current procedural hurdles include the question of whether states had to ratify the amendment by the 1982 deadline and the possibility of Congress removing the deadline, as it had previously extended it once.

What is the stance of Kate Kelly, an attorney for Equality Now, on the potential inclusion of the ERA in the Constitution?

Kate Kelly is confident that the ERA will be included in the Constitution, despite the procedural hurdles, citing the historical precedent of Congress's ability to remove or extend deadlines and the existence of pending bills in Congress to remove the ERA deadline.

How has the perception of the ERA changed since the 1970s?

Many of the old arguments against the ERA, such as the fear that it would require women to serve in the military, have become moot as women now serve with distinction at every level and legal precedents have evolved to address such concerns.

What is the argument made by those who oppose the ERA regarding its potential impact on abortion rights?

Opponents of the ERA argue that its passage could undo state-by-state restrictions on abortion, fearing that it might be interpreted as providing a constitutional right to abortion without restrictions.

How does Kate Kelly respond to the argument that the ERA could negatively affect abortion rights?

Kate Kelly argues that all constitutional rights can have restrictions and that the ERA would not necessarily change the current constitutional regime under the right of privacy, which already provides for abortion access.

What is the issue with states attempting to rescind their ratification of the ERA?

There is a legal question as to whether states can rescind their ratification of the ERA. Historically, attempts to rescind have not been counted, and the precedent suggests that once a state has ratified, it is considered ratified.

What is the current status of the ERA in terms of state ratifications, and what does the future hold?

With Virginia's ratification, the ERA has met the threshold of being ratified by 38 states. However, the future of the ERA in the Constitution is still uncertain and may be subject to court action to resolve procedural and legal challenges.