The Equal Rights Amendment — which would guarantee that rights under the Constitution cannot be denied based on sex — was passed by Congress in 1972 and eventually ratified by 38 states, the three-fourths threshold required. But the original resolution included a deadline that has long since passed, and there's been legal debate over whether the ratification still counts. This joint resolution would settle the question by declaring that, regardless of any time limit in the original 1972 resolution, the ERA has been validly ratified and is part of the Constitution.
Congressional Summary
This joint resolution provides that the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, was ratified by three-fourths of the states and is therefore a valid constitutional amendment, regardless of any time limit that was in the original proposal. The Equal Rights Amendment was originally proposed to the states in 1972. The original proposal included a deadline for ratification of March 22, 1979; Congress subsequently extended the deadline to June 30, 1982. Although the requisite 38 states have ratified the amendment, three of these states did so after the deadlines, and five states subsequently rescinded their ratifications. The status of the amendment has been the subject of litigation.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-03-25
- Date Added
- 2026-04-06