'When Donald Trump became president in 2016 and began furiously rolling back women’s rights, ERA supporters mobilized a renewed effort to achieve full ratification of the ERA. Nevada ratified the amendment in 2017, Illinois in 2018 and Virginia in 2020 to reach full ratification by 38 states as required by Article 5. Meanwhile, hostile a…
'When Donald Trump became president in 2016 and began furiously rolling back women’s rights, ERA supporters mobilized a renewed effort to achieve full ratification of the ERA. Nevada ratified the amendment in 2017, Illinois in 2018 and Virginia in 2020 to reach full ratification by 38 states as required by Article 5. Meanwhile, hostile attorneys general from Alabama, Louisiana and South Dakota—states that claim to have rescinded their ratifications—sued to block the ERA.'
'The final ministerial step to make a constitutional amendment official is for the U.S. archivist to verify the ratifications and then draft a formal proclamation certifying that the amendment is valid and is part of the Constitution. This certification is then published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large and serves as official notice to Congress and the nation that the amendment process has been completed.'
'But these final steps were never taken. Even before Virginia ratified the ERA, the Trump-era Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued a 38-page opinion arguing that the three recent ratifications were invalid because they came too late. The archivist declined to certify the ERA, and the attorneys general from Alabama, Louisiana and South Dakota dropped their lawsuit.'
'However, attorneys general from the three final states to ratify—Nevada, Illinois and Virginia—filed suit to require the archivist to certify the ERA.'
'Constitutional law scholars dispute that a seven-year timeline for ratification in the preamble to the ERA passed by Congress in 1972 means recent ratifications are invalid. “States did not vote for the timeline—states voted for the text of the ERA. The timeline was in a preamble. The timeline is definitely not binding on Congress,” said Georgetown Law professor Victoria Nourse.'
'Constitutional law scholars also believe that the several states’ attempt to rescind their ratifications is not valid. “Article 5 speaks to ratification but not rescission,” said Kathleen Sullivan, former dean of Stanford Law School. “Article 5 describes a one-way ratchet. It does not provide for a two-way ratchet for going in and out of the process.”
“The Equal Rights Amendment has met all the constitutional requirements for the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution of the United States,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation (publisher of Ms.). “The Department of Justice is not part of the amending process, and Trump’s DOJ should not have thrown up that procedural blockade. The national archivist’s duty is to certify the ERA as the 28th Amendment.”
'The House of Representatives has twice passed a joint resolution declaring the ERA validly ratified—in February 2020 and March 2021—but Republicans have used the filibuster to block the measure in the Senate. To overcome the filibuster, Democrats must either carve out an exception to the filibuster rule for the ERA joint resolution or convince 10 Republicans to vote to end the filibuster.'
'So far, the only Republican senators supporting the ERA joint resolution are Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Not one male Republican senator has indicated support, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has pledged to block the measure.'(Ms.) See link to the article below.
Good Lord, the sausage making is grotesque, and as usual, republicans are the enemy. What a different world we could live in, if competition with rules written by Rube Goldberg were replaced with cooperation focused of survival of us all. There might even be a livable earth for our children…
So sad. Sadder that those facts aren't repeated via media, at least as equally as they've covered every single uttering by orange douche Vader and the ultra right kooks grandstanding nonsensical, unworkable remedies, that we have learned from our dear Dr. HCR, have been tried and failed before - some more than once or twice.
'When Donald Trump became president in 2016 and began furiously rolling back women’s rights, ERA supporters mobilized a renewed effort to achieve full ratification of the ERA. Nevada ratified the amendment in 2017, Illinois in 2018 and Virginia in 2020 to reach full ratification by 38 states as required by Article 5. Meanwhile, hostile attorneys general from Alabama, Louisiana and South Dakota—states that claim to have rescinded their ratifications—sued to block the ERA.'
'The final ministerial step to make a constitutional amendment official is for the U.S. archivist to verify the ratifications and then draft a formal proclamation certifying that the amendment is valid and is part of the Constitution. This certification is then published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large and serves as official notice to Congress and the nation that the amendment process has been completed.'
'But these final steps were never taken. Even before Virginia ratified the ERA, the Trump-era Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued a 38-page opinion arguing that the three recent ratifications were invalid because they came too late. The archivist declined to certify the ERA, and the attorneys general from Alabama, Louisiana and South Dakota dropped their lawsuit.'
'However, attorneys general from the three final states to ratify—Nevada, Illinois and Virginia—filed suit to require the archivist to certify the ERA.'
'Constitutional law scholars dispute that a seven-year timeline for ratification in the preamble to the ERA passed by Congress in 1972 means recent ratifications are invalid. “States did not vote for the timeline—states voted for the text of the ERA. The timeline was in a preamble. The timeline is definitely not binding on Congress,” said Georgetown Law professor Victoria Nourse.'
'Constitutional law scholars also believe that the several states’ attempt to rescind their ratifications is not valid. “Article 5 speaks to ratification but not rescission,” said Kathleen Sullivan, former dean of Stanford Law School. “Article 5 describes a one-way ratchet. It does not provide for a two-way ratchet for going in and out of the process.”
“The Equal Rights Amendment has met all the constitutional requirements for the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution of the United States,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation (publisher of Ms.). “The Department of Justice is not part of the amending process, and Trump’s DOJ should not have thrown up that procedural blockade. The national archivist’s duty is to certify the ERA as the 28th Amendment.”
'The House of Representatives has twice passed a joint resolution declaring the ERA validly ratified—in February 2020 and March 2021—but Republicans have used the filibuster to block the measure in the Senate. To overcome the filibuster, Democrats must either carve out an exception to the filibuster rule for the ERA joint resolution or convince 10 Republicans to vote to end the filibuster.'
'So far, the only Republican senators supporting the ERA joint resolution are Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Not one male Republican senator has indicated support, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has pledged to block the measure.'(Ms.) See link to the article below.
https://msmagazine.com/2022/02/10/equal-rights-amendment-ratified/
Good Lord, the sausage making is grotesque, and as usual, republicans are the enemy. What a different world we could live in, if competition with rules written by Rube Goldberg were replaced with cooperation focused of survival of us all. There might even be a livable earth for our children…
All this effort just to make sure it is legal to treat women as lesser.
Seems like a lot of effort for something that should not be needed, but, certainly is needed Jeri.
So sad. Sadder that those facts aren't repeated via media, at least as equally as they've covered every single uttering by orange douche Vader and the ultra right kooks grandstanding nonsensical, unworkable remedies, that we have learned from our dear Dr. HCR, have been tried and failed before - some more than once or twice.