Equal Rights Amendment wording: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." With all the destructive and dangerous situations happening in our country right now, including the U.S. Supreme Court's decision over-turning abortions, women need the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
Legal scholars, who are constitutional experts, i.e. Laurence Tribe, Professor Emeritus of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School, and Kathleen Sullivan, have recently stated that the ERA is currently a valid part of the U.S. Constitution. This was quoted by U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney, Chair, of the Committee on Diversity and Reform. Her comments were recently published in Ms. Magazine, Spring 2022 edition. Over the years, 38 states have voted to ratify the ERA and enshrine gender equality in our Constitution, according to Maloney. In January, 2022 all legal thresholds were met, and the National Archivist was required by statute to certify and publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment, quoted Maloney.
On January 26, 2022 the U.S. Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion and clarified that Congress, not the Executive Branch, is in control of amending the Constitution, according to Professor Tribe. He also stated that Congress should act concurrently to recognize it as such. If Congress takes no such action, the Archivist should publish it as the 28th Amendment, according to Professor Tribe.
"I feel that women across the U.S. continue to experience discrimination on the basis of sex," quoted Maloney. Her committee has jurisdiction over the National Archivist. In the meantime, Archivist David Ferriero has retired as of 4/30/22. I urge women to contact Deputy Archivist Debra Steidel, serving as Acting Archivist, at email: public.affairs@nara.gov, and urge her to carry out her ministerial duty, and publish the ERA 28th Amendment right away. - Gina B
