Equal Rights Amendment

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The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed constitutional amendment designed to ensure equal rights for women in the United States . It was to become the 27th amendment to the United States Constitution . The ERA was written by Alice Paul and first submitted to Congress in 1923 , three years after the inclusion of the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote. The ERA states: "Men and women should have equal rights in the United States and wherever US law applies."

Until the 1970s, the ERA was rejected in both the Senate and the House of Representatives . In March 1972, both chambers of Congress approved the addition. The ratification by at least three quarters of the states, at the time 38, was still pending. March 22, 1979 was set as the original ratification deadline. By 1977, 35 of the required 38 states had ratified the amendment. The ratification period was extended to June 30, 1982, but no other state approved the ERA. Thus the ERA in 1982 failed.

After the states of Nevada and Illinois subsequently ratified the ERA in 2017 and 2018, the ratification in Virginia achieved the required quorum of the 38 states. Proponents of inclusion in the constitution argue that the ratification period is invalid or that Congress could subsequently extend the ERA and thus enter into force. This reading is controversial.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Roberto Hernandez: Equal Rights Amendment . In: Encyclopedia of Women's Health. Springer, 2004, ISBN 978-0-306-48073-7 , pp. 457-459. doi : 10.1007 / 978-0-306-48113-0_153 .
  2. ^ Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Office of Legal Counsel, January 6, 2020, accessed August 28, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Veronica Stracqualursi CNN: Trump administration asks court to dismiss lawsuit to add ERA to US Constitution. Retrieved August 10, 2020 .

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