What is the ERA? The ERA is an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to correct the omission of women. Like all amendments, it required ¾ of the states (38) to ratify it for it to become part of the Constitution. This is the full text:
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 ERA was ratified by the 38th state (Virginia) on January 27, 2020. So why isn’t it in the Constitution? Because first the Trump Administration and then the Biden Administration have unconstitutionally obstructed its being published by the National Archivist, as the Constitution requires.
There are so many reasons why women and girls need the ERA. Let’s review some statistics:
- Over 4 women a week were murdered in California in 2020
- Over 298.000 rapes of women were reported in the U.S. in the same year
- Spousal abuse of women is estimated at 4.8 million every year
- Approximately 1 million women are stalked annually in the U.S.
- Over 78% of sexual harassment charges were filed by women between 2018-2021
- 7 in 10 human trafficking victims are women and girls
- Over 500,000 cases of female genital mutilation have occurred or are at risk of occurring in the U.S.
- Abortion rights and birth control are increasingly under attack, risking women’s health and lives
- Women in every state report injustice in their family law cases, especially battered mothers trying to protect their children from abusive fathers who aggressively litigate against them, using family court to stalk, harass, punish, and impoverish their former partners and children
- Child marriage is still prevalent in the U.S., 87% of victims of which are girls
- Women still earn 82 cents to every dollar men earn
- Single women and mothers with children are the two fastest-growing groups of people experiencing homelessness in the United States
All of this is facilitated and amplified by the fact that women do not have equal standing in the U.S. Constitution.
Attorney Wendy Murphy explains more in this video:
Some History:
The ERA was first introduced into Congress in 1923 as the Lucretia Mott Amendment, shortly after women suffragists won the right to vote. It was always Alice Paul’s and the First Wave feminists’ intent to gain equal standing in the U.S. Constitution following gaining the vote. The ERA languished for decades, however, was rewritten in 1943, and finally passed in its present form in 1972. This was due to the efforts of Paul who seized the moment when the Civil Rights Movement for black people gained ground in order to press for the civil rights of women. It then went to the states for ratification and reached 35 states before the imposed deadline of first 7 years, extended to 10 years, expired in 1982. In 1992, when the 27th amendment was passed after over 202 years, efforts began anew to obtain the last 3 states to ratify in order to reach the ¾ requirement.
Because of the tireless efforts of individual women and especially the organization, Equal Means Equal, Nevada ratified in 2017; Illinois in 2018, and Virginia in 2020, reaching the required 38 states. Instead of being published onto the Constitution by the National Archivist as Article V of the Constitution mandates, however, the Trump Administration unconstitutionally interfered with its publication by writing a memo, known as the Bill Barr Memo, to the National Archivist telling him not to publish because the deadline had passed. As Archivist, David Ferriero had recorded the ratifications of Nevada and Illinois, but pursuant to the memo from the Office of Legal Counsel in the Trump administration’s Department of Justice, he did not act to publish and certify the ERA after receiving Virginia’s ratification documents in January 2020.
Then after the 2020 election, the Biden Administration continued obstructing its publication and has fought it in court like the Trump Administration did, despite claiming support for the ERA and women’s rights when campaigning. This is especially outrageous considering the fact that the Dobbs decision overturning Roe would not have been possible had the ERA been in the Constitution.
David Ferriero retired in the spring of 2022, and Colleen Shogan was confirmed as his successor as Archivist; she has stated she would publish the ERA if she were told to do so by President Biden. So that is what we need to pressure him to do! We need as many people as possible participating every day in this campaign between now and the election, as that is when we have some leverage and can get some national attention.
Here is our battle plan to finally get the ERA published:
- CALL: White House Comment Line 202-456-1111 open T-Th 11-3 EST 8-12 PDT
- TEXT: 310-861-2977 – Harris 302-404-0800 – Biden
- EMAIL: whitehouse.gov/contact – request a response!
- HOUND ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Twitter accounts: @JoeBiden or @POTUS /@KamalaHarris or @VP – Use Hashtags #ERA #EqualRightsAmendment #ERANow!
Sample posts:
The #EqualRightsAmendment was fully ratified on January 27, 2020 and has been unconstitutionally obstructed by Trump & now by @POTUS and @VP. It is now over 100 years since the #ERA was first introduced into Congress. How long must women wait for equality?! Make the call, @JoeBiden!
Congress and the American Bar Association @ABAesq have both deemed the #EqualRightsAmendment to be fully ratified. Why are you standing in the way of women’s equality? What are you waiting for @POTUS and @VP?! Call the National Archivist and tell her to publish #ERA, @JoeBiden!
- Write/call/tweet to senators and congressional representatives in support of HJ Res 82 and SJ Res 39, resolutions to urge the publication of the ERA. Make it clear that you realize that Congress has already done its job in 1972, and it is Joe Biden’s turn to do his by calling the Archivist and instructing her to publish. Let them know they should be pressuring him directly as it is HIS responsibility, not theirs. No bill extending the deadline is needed either (nor is it valid).
ADDITIONAL ACTIONS:
- Take a photo of yourself with an ERA sign with the demand “Make the call Joe!” and upload it to https://finalimpact.org.
- Join and follow the #era-publication Slack Channel
For more information see the following videos and articles:
https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1mrGmyQqmEVGy or https://t.co/hpWyArF6kn
https://x.com/i/spaces/1jMKgmqrXkyJL
https://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq/
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/women/initiatives_awards/era
