1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i The Equal Rights Amendment: Close to Adoption? Updated November 13, 2019 The recent election of Democratic majorities in both chambers of the Virginia legislature has prompted new discussion of the state ratify
2、ing the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution when it convenes in January. In 2018, efforts to ratify the amendment were narrowly defeated in the state House and Senate. First presented to the states in 1972, the ERA provides that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied
3、 or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.” 37 states have now ratified the ERA, and some supporters of the amendment maintain that ratification by just one additional state could result in its adoption. After ratification by one more state, the ERA will have been ratified by
4、three-fourths of the states, as required by Article V of the Constitution. Whether the ERA can be so adopted, however, is not entirely certain. Questions concerning the expiration of Congresss original ratification deadline without approval by three-fourths of the states, and the rescission of ratif
