Equal Rights Amendment & Abortion: Democrats Admit Conservatives Were Right

Congressional Democrats’ effort to revive the long-dead Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is an assault on the rule of law and basic logic.

Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution grants power to Congress to propose a constitutional amendment with the votes of two-thirds of each chamber, after which three-fourths of states must ratify it before it can become law. In 1972, Congress secured the necessary two-thirds vote in each chamber to propose the Equal Rights Amendment, which declared: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Once it was passed, supporters had seven years to get three-fourths of the states to ratify it, and failed to do so in time. In 1978, a simple majority of Congress purported to extend the deadline to 1982, but no more states signed on before then.

About the Author

John McCormack

John McCormack is a former Washington correspondent for National Review and was a fellow at the National Review Institute.

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Congressional Democrats’ effort to revive the long-dead Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is an assault on the rule of law and basic logic.

Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution grants power to Congress to propose a constitutional amendment with the votes of two-thirds of each chamber, after which three-fourths of states must ratify it before it can become law. In 1972, Congress secured the necessary two-thirds vote in each chamber to propose the Equal Rights Amendment, which declared: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Once it was passed, supporters had seven years to get three-fourths of the states to ratify it, and failed to do so in time. In 1978, a simple majority of Congress purported to extend the deadline to 1982, but no more states signed on before then.