Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the Senate will hold a vote on the Equal Rights Amendment this week.
The Equal Rights Amendment is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution to guarantee equal legal rights for all regardless of sex. It was passed by both the House and Senate in 1972 and sent to the states for ratification. Congress set a date for 38 states (two-thirds) to ratify it by 1979. They later extended the deadline to 1982, but only 35 states had passed it.
Nevada and Illinois ratified the ERA in 2017 and 2018 respectively, with Virginia becoming the 38th in 2020. The bill the Senate will vote on this week removes the deadline and recognize the amendment as “valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution.”
“In this ominous hour of American history, the Equal Rights Amendment has never been as necessary and urgent as it is today,” Schumer said in a statement. “Recent events like the Supreme Court’s horrible Dobbsdecision, uncertainty with critical care drugs like Mifepristone, and a slew of proposed state actions have women in this country facing an uncertain future."
The bill was introduced in a bipartisan effort, by both men and women. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) brought forth and signed the bill alongside Democrat Ben Cardin (Maryland).
Despite its support, the amendment faces legal challenges, such as whether the original deadline still stands. There is also the question of whether or not states can rescind their ratification, as five states — Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee, and South Dakota — all voted to rescind their ratification of the ERA.
Still, Schumar was unwavering in his statement, saying: “We are here to stand united, and inch by inch restore, fight for, and expand women’s rights so that the women of today and the generations of tomorrow will not know a future with less access than their mothers had."
