President Joe Biden’s declaration the Equal Rights Amendment is “the law of the land” likely only sets up more debates for Congress and the courts.
Supporters say it is needed to protect against discrimination. Opponents argue the timetable to have it become part of the Constitution has passed.
If Biden really wanted to make the ERA the “law of the land,” he would have needed to direct the head of the National Archives to ignore the Department of Justice. But he didn't do that—or really anything for women's rights during his presidency.
The Equal Rights Amendment, which would prohibit discrimination based on gender, was sent to the states for ratification in 1972. Congress set a deadline of 1979 for three-quarters of state legislatures to ratify the amendment, then extended it to 1982.
In his final week as president, Biden is using his bully pulpit to try to push forward the amendment that would enshrine sex equality in the U.S. Constitution.
The move has no immediate legal force but will likely spark lawsuits that advocates hope will restore abortion rights.
Did Florida ever ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, the 1972 amendment that declared women equal under the law?
President Joe Biden said Friday that he believes the Equal Rights Amendment, which guarantees equal protections regardless of sex, is the “law of the land” but stopped short of ordering the U.S. archivist to publish the constitutional amendment.
President Joe Biden renewed his call for the Equal Right Amendment to be ratified, but is stopping short of taking any action on the matter in his final days in office.
Biden’s statement has no legal force and a White House official said courts would have to decide whether the amendment is a valid part of America’s constitution
President Joe Biden's executive opinion on the Equal Rights Amendment comes in the final days of his presidency. Some local advocates wish he and Democrats had acted sooner.