John,

2024 marks the 101st anniversary of the Equal Rights Amendment's first introduction. It was approved by Congress in 1972 and ratified by 38 states, but it still hasn’t been certified and added to the Constitution.

It has been more than four years since Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA, satisfying the constitutional requirements to make it the 28th amendment. However, the National Archivist, Dr. Colleen Shogan has yet to publish it in the Constitution. President Biden must direct the National Archivist to publish the ERA today.

At a time when women and members of the LGBTQ+ community are watching their rights being stripped away by the Supreme Court and state legislatures, publishing the ERA is critical.

Sign if you agree: It’s time to certify the Equal Rights Amendment.

Following Virginia’s ratification, then-National Archivist David Ferriero should have promptly fulfilled his duty to publish the ERA. Ferriero refused, incorrectly deferring to a January 2020 memo from the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). The OLC, under the direction of then Attorney General Bill Barr in the Trump Administration, argued that the ERA was not properly ratified because the final states to ratify the amendment did so outside of a time limit imposed by Congress.

But, as we have long argued, this deadline is invalid and unenforceable, as it was not included in the text of the Amendment. It has no power to block the ERA, which has been approved by two-thirds of Congress and ratified by three-fourths of U.S. states.

Enough is enough. Dr. Shogan must fulfill her duty and publish the ERA as the 28th amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing equal rights regardless of sex. And, President Biden must instruct her to do so today.

Sign the petition: The National Archivist must certify the Equal Rights Amendment.

In solidarity,
Free Speech For People