Biden Declares Equal Rights Amendment Ratified, Setting Stage for Legal Showdown
The Equal Rights Amendment is the 28th Amendment, and it is the law of the land. pic.twitter.com/jl1Ewg2JAf
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) January 17, 2025
Biden Declares Equal Rights Amendment Ratified, Prompting Legal Battle
President Joe Biden announced Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is ratified, which would enshrine protections against gender-based discrimination into the Constitution. The declaration is a historic but contentious move intended to strengthen women’s rights, including reproductive freedom, but it is likely to be met with swift legal challenge.
Senile old man declares that he is adding a 28th Amendment to the Constitution pic.twitter.com/MfvKJRsQSI
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 17, 2025
Passed by Congress in 1972, the ERA required ratification by 38 states. Virginia’s ratification in 2020 reached the threshold after decades of stagnation. Biden reiterated his opinion that the ERA, now the 28th Amendment, is constitutionally valid. The next procedural step would require the Archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen Shogan, to certify and publish the amendment.
In his statement, Biden said, “It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. I affirm that the 28th Amendment guarantees equal rights under the law regardless of sex.”
While Biden did not act unilaterally, his administration insists that the framers of the Constitution did not set a time limit on the amendment, and states cannot withdraw their ratifications. But the lawyers are at variance with that argument, citing lapsed deadlines and rescissions by states.
The Archivist and the National Archives have previously stated that the ERA “cannot be certified” due to procedural and legal barriers. Ultimately, courts are expected to decide the amendment’s fate, leaving its future uncertain as Biden concludes his presidency.
Advocates, such as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, have been pushing for ERA ratification as a way of ensuring women’s rights without a divided Congress. But Biden’s declaration gives new momentum to the long debate, whose success will be determined by judicial interpretation.
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