Illinois 37th State to Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment – Want Your State To Be #38?

What’s the story?

• Illinois on Wednesday became the 37th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal rights for all regardless of their sex.

• This puts the country one state away from the ERA’s possible enshrinement in the Constitution.
• The proposed amendment reads: 

"Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

• Congress is currently considering a resolution to eliminate the deadline for states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

A 46 year battle

• The ERA was passed by Congress in 1972 and provided states a seven-year time limit to ratify the amendment, which was then extended to 1982 after six years had elapsed.
• Once the 1982 deadline arrived, the ERA had been ratified by 35 states—three short of the requirement.
• Following its failure to achieve ratification before the 1982 deadline, the ERA was reintroduced in Congress by those who believed the ratification process would have to begin anew.

Illinois joins its northern neighbors

• Since 1982, Illinois remained the only northern state that hadn’t ratified the ERA.
• Democratic state Rep. Lou Lang of Skokie, who sponsored efforts to pass the amendment for over 20 years, said the time was right to push the measure through:

"You would think that with all of the noise nationally about the attitude of the Trump administration, about the #MeToo movement, that this would be sufficient for fence-straddlers to say, 'Ok. I'll do this. It's the right thing to do.’”

Not everyone supports the ERA

• Republican State Rep. Peter Breen of Lombard, an abortion rights opponent, labeled the ERA “an alleged constitutional amendment” and warned Illinois lawmakers they’d be adopting an “illegal act.”
• According to the Chicago Tribute, Breen also contended supporters of the ERA “have no other thing they want to do” than expand abortion rights.

“It will expand taxpayer funding of abortions, very well might roll back our parental notice (for minors to have an abortion) law and have other negative impacts on various abortion regulations,” Breen said.

What do you think?

Do you support the Equal Rights Amendment? Do you want your state to be the state that gets the ERA enshrined in the Constitution? Does Congress need to get rid of the deadline for ratifying the ERA? Hit Take Action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

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• Does Congress Need To Get Rid Of The Deadline For Ratifying The ERA? Hit Take

(Photo Credit: marrio31 / iStock)