Enshrinement in U.S. Constitution eludes Equal Rights Amendment

Last week, the U.S. Senate attempted to eliminate a rule that is preventing enshrinement of the Equal Rights Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.

The provisional vote, 51 to 47, to take up the measure failed to reach the 60 necessary votes to advance.

The ERA was introduced in 1923 and passed through Congress in 1972. Virginia became the 38^th state in 2020 and final state necessary to ratify the amendment and enshrine equality for women in the U.S. Constitution. However, Virginia’s vote to ratify came after the 1982 deadline.

Sen. Mark R. Warner has pushed for Congress to eliminate the time limit and official make the ERA the 28^th Amendment, advancing equality in the fields of workforce and pay, pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment and violence and reproductive freedom.

Prior to the procedural vote, Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine voiced their support for the ERA:  

“In 2020, Virginia made history by becoming the 38th and final state needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Today, the Senate has the opportunity to make history by voting to remove the time limit for ratification of the ERA. We urge our colleagues to join us in voting to remove this arbitrary and unnecessary time limit and enshrine equality for women into the U.S. Constitution.”