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Dear friend,
Breaking news: the Virginia legislature just passed the Equal Rights Amendment, making it the 38th state to approve it -- enough to ratify the ERA and make it part of the U.S. Constitution!1
But we need Congress's help to finish the job. The House Judiciary Committee has already voted to repeal an old law that had required the ERA to be ratified by 1982.2 That law may not be enforceable, but Congress should repeal it anyway. (We can't trust the Supreme Court on this one.) Can you help add public pressure to ensure the full Congress helps finally get the ERA ratified?
After decades of activism, Congress finally passed an Equal Rights Amendment and sent it to the states for ratification in 1972. Most states quickly ratified it. But by the late 1970s, right-wing backlash had begun and ratification stalled. With 35 states having ratified it, the ERA was three states short in 1982.
Recently the ERA has been revived, thanks in part to Donald Trump reminding America of the pervasive, persistent sexism in American life. Nevada ratified the ERA in 2017, and Illinois ratified it in 2018. Virginia's ratification brought the total to 38 states — enough to meet the Constitutional requirement of three-fourths of the states approving a constitutional amendment.
Congress may not even be able to put a time limit on ratifying an amendment. After all, the most recent addition to the Constitution, the 27th Amendment governing Congressional pay increases, was approved in 1992 - literally two hundred years after it had first been sent to the states for ratification.
Still, conservative and anti-feminist forces will likely pick a court fight, and we can't rely on Trump's Supreme Court to do the right thing. That's why it's important for Congress to proactively repeal the 1970s-era time limit law and help ensure ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
The House Judiciary Committee's recent vote was a major step in the right direction. Now we need your help to pressure the entire Congress to act. Will you help?
Add your name: Tell Congress to help ratify the Equal Rights Amendment!
Thank you for taking action for equal rights.
Robert and the team at Demand Progress
Sources:
1. Associated Press, "Virginia Becomes Critical 38th State to Ratify Equal Rights Amendment," January 27, 2020.
2. Vox, "House Democrats took a big step to get the Equal Rights Amendment moving again," November 13, 2019.
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