Lisa McCormick calls for publication of the Equal Rights Amendment

Progressive Democrat Lisa McCormick has joined a growing coalition of women’s rights organizations, professional associations, labor unions, and activists urging the Executive Branch to publish the duly-ratified Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

The ERA is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and women in matters of divorce, property, employment, and other matters.

“Until our Constitution reflects equality for all Americans, the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQIA+ people will continue to be subject to the whims of anti-equality politicians and the judges they appoint,” McCormick said.

Originally proposed nearly 100 years ago, on March 22, 1972, the ERA was sent to the states for ratification, following overwhelming passage in the House and Senate. By 1978, 35 states had ratified the ERA. When Nevada and Illinois became the 36th and 37th states to ratify the ERA in 2017 and 2018, respectively, the U.S. Archivist, an Executive Branch employee, accepted and certified the ratifications.

The ERA is a very simple amendment putting protection for women and other marginalized genders directly into the United States Constitution.

The entire text of the proposed amendment is:

• 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.

“When one of our constitutional decisions goes astray, the country is usually stuck with the bad decision unless we correct our own mistake. An erroneous constitutional decision can be fixed by amending the Constitution, but our Constitution is notoriously hard to amend,” McCormick said.

When the ERA passed in 1972, the legislation included a seven-year deadline. Upon reaching the original deadline without achieving the requisite number of state ratifications, advocates for the ERA convinced Congress to extend the deadline until 1982.

However, anti-ERA groups and activists ramped up their opposition during that time, successfully mobilizing factions against the ERA and stalling the momentum the movement had enjoyed throughout the country.

The 1982 deadline passed with the ERA falling three states short of the 38 needed for ratification but Congress but in 2017, Nevada became the first state in 45 years to pass the ERA, followed by Illinois in 2018 and Virginia in 2020!

Now that the necessary 38 states have ratified, Congress must eliminate the original deadline.

On 21 January 2021, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), and Congressman Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) introduced a joint resolution was introduced in Congress currently to do just that.

Hundreds of constitutional scholars, including Professor Laurence Tribe and the Honorable Russ Feingold, agree that the ERA has met all constitutional requirements, is the 28th Amendment, and must be published.

“Publication of the ERA is an important step towards ensuring that everyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, is treated equally under the law,” McCormick said. “It’s time for the Executive Branch to do the right thing and publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”