Can the ERA still be ratified?
Asked by: Garrett Schultz | Last update: February 3, 2026Score: 4.7/5 (49 votes)
The ERA's ratification is stuck in legal and political limbo; while 38 states have ratified it (meeting the constitutional requirement), the original deadlines set by Congress have expired, and the National Archivist states it can't be certified without new congressional action, despite some legal arguments and political efforts to remove the deadlines. Key disputes involve the validity of late ratifications, whether rescinded ratifications count, and Congress's power to set deadlines, with current efforts focused on Congress passing new legislation to remove the deadlines and recognize the existing ratifications.
What would happen if the Equal Rights Amendment was ratified?
First proposed in 1923, the ERA is a constitutional amendment that, if formally recognized as the 28th Amendment, would make sex-based equality explicit in the U.S. Constitution for the first time. It would prohibit discrimination “on account of sex,” including discrimination against people of all genders.
Who stopped the Equal Rights Amendment?
Phyllis Schlafly. Phyllis Stewart Schlafly (/ˈʃlæfli/; born Phyllis McAlpin Stewart; August 15, 1924 – September 5, 2016) was an American attorney and activist who was nationally prominent in conservatism.
What state has not ratified the ERA?
Arizona, Utah, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina have not ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. Washington and Hawaii both ratified the amendment on March 22, 1972, immediately after Congress sent it to the states.
Why hasn't the Archivist published The ERA?
Court decisions at both the District and Circuit levels have affirmed that the ratification deadlines established by Congress for the ERA are valid. Therefore, the Archivist of the United States cannot legally publish the Equal Rights Amendment.
Equal Rights Amendment - Why We Still Need to Ratify the ERA
Why did the ERA fail to pass?
Support in the states that had not ratified fell below 50%. Public opinion in key states shifted against the ERA as its opponents, operating on the local and state levels, won over the public. The state legislators in battleground states followed public opinion in rejecting the ERA.
Did the founding fathers put God in the Constitution?
No, the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly mention God or a supreme being in its main text, a deliberate choice by the Founding Fathers to establish a secular government and protect religious freedom, though it does contain a date reference ("Year of our Lord") and the First Amendment prevents religious tests for office, reflecting a consensus on separation of church and state despite their personal faith.
Is the ERA still relevant today?
While the ERA is fully ratified and was recognized by a US President as the law of the land, it has yet to be officially published in the Constitution. Advocates were instrumental in achieving constitutional sex equality and will be instrumental in ensuring its enforcement.
What are the 4 unratified amendments?
These unratified amendments address the size of the U.S. House (1789), foreign titles of nobility (1810), slavery (1861), child labor (1924), equal rights for women (1972), and representation for the District of Columbia (1978).
What are the arguments against the ERA?
Back in the 1970s, when state ratification debates were raging, conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly and others opposed to the ERA argued that it would require unisex bathrooms. Today, most people who oppose the ERA appear to be motivated chiefly by concerns that it would strengthen abortion rights.
What groups opposed the ERA?
The ERA also faced opposition from religious groups, especially Mormons, fundamentalist Christians, and Catholics. The ERA, they claimed, conflicted with God-given differences between men and women and disregarded traditional family and gender roles embedded in their religious beliefs.
Why has the Equality Act not been passed?
The Equality Act would need at least 67 votes in the Senate, where Democrats have a slim majority, to overcome a filibuster. The bill failed to garner enough bipartisan support in the upper chamber after it was passed by the House in 2021, and the current version of the bill, introduced in June by Sen.
Who opposed the Equal rights Act?
Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative activist, commentator, and author, led a successful campaign against the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s.
What would it take to pass the ERA?
Under the Constitution's Article V, two-thirds of Congress approved the proposed amendment's language in 1972 and sent the ERA to the states for ratification where 38 states were needed to add the amendment to the Constitution.
Why did the Equal Rights Amendment fail in 1923?
Many reasons exist for the failure of the Equal Rights Amendment, most important, the inability of its supporters to realize the strength of the opposition. The conservative movement in the United States had been growing, partly as a backlash to the lesbian and gay and women's rights movements of the 1960's and 1970's.
What is the difference between passed and ratified?
Passing a bill means passing the bill for the first time. Ratification means Subsequent approval, basically ratifying a bill means the bill was passed earlier itself but some changes had done to it. In order to approve such changes, we generally use the term ratification.
What is the most controversial constitutional amendment?
The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 is one of the most significant and controversial amendments to the Constitution of India, often referred to as the “Mini Constitution” due to the extensive and wide-ranging changes it introduced.
What would a 28th Amendment be?
There isn't one single "28th Amendment" yet; the term most often refers to the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which aims to guarantee legal equality regardless of sex, though its official publication and enforcement remain debated, with other proposals also being discussed, like gun control or economic rights. The ERA, first proposed in 1923, passed Congress in 1972 but faces hurdles, with advocates arguing it's validly ratified and should be published as the 28th Amendment, while others propose new amendments for issues like gun safety or housing.
What is the full 6th Amendment?
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be ...
Why did the ERA fail to get ratified?
The ERA was not ratified to the Constitution because the deadline passed without having the necessary support from three-fourths of states. Congress does not have the authority to change a resolution that proposes a constitutional amendment after it is submitted to the states or after the deadline is reached.
Can a president be removed for violating the Constitution?
The impeachment process
The Constitution gives Congress the power to impeach federal officials. An official can be impeached for treason, bribery, and “other high crimes and misdemeanors.” The House of Representatives brings articles (charges) of impeachment against an official.
What percentage of Americans support the Equal Rights Amendment?
According to a recent poll, 85% of Americans across party lines support the Equal Rights Amendment.
What did Stephen Hawking say about God?
Stephen Hawking stated that science offers better explanations for the universe's origins than religion, concluding there is no God or divine creator, and that the universe arose spontaneously from nothing according to physical laws, not divine will, seeing no need for a higher power to set things in motion. While initially suggesting God might have set the laws, he later clarified he was an atheist, believing the simplest explanation is no God and that humans invented God to explain the unexplainable, which science now addresses.
Did all 613 laws come from God?
Yes, the 613 mitzvot (commandments) in Judaism are traditionally considered to have been given by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, forming the core of the Torah, though the Bible doesn't explicitly state the number 613; Jewish tradition, particularly Maimonides' work, compiled and enumerated them from the texts of the Torah, with the Ten Commandments serving as a summary of these broader laws. The exact list and interpretation vary, with some laws being ceremonial, moral, or judicial, and not all are applicable today.
What did Albert Einstein say about Jesus?
Though Jewish, Albert Einstein expressed deep admiration for Jesus Christ, calling him a "luminous figure" whose personality "pulsates in every word" of the Gospels, acknowledging Jesus's historical existence and his profound, "divine" teachings, even if some sayings echoed earlier prophets, while advocating for a purified Christianity stripped of priestly dogma, focusing on Jesus's ethical message for humanity.