Throughout the 50's and the 60's in America there was a social revolution. Minorities were fighting for their rights, women and their role in society was rapidly evolving, and advances in technology made it seem like the old ways of doing things were coming to an end. This all culminated in one of the most fierce debates of the late 20th Century, the Equal Rights Amendment.

The ERA, if ratified by 38 states, would have made it illegal to discriminate or favor in any way, shape, or form, on the account of gender. While seemingly popular today, there was plenty of resistance to it when it was first proposed and sent to the states. While you'd imagine many men were against it, but you may be surprised to hear there was a large number of women who were also against it. Their main argument was that women can't be given equal rights as men because if they were they would also owe equal responsibilities. In fact, this statement is accurate to a point, as many scholars have pointed out. Currently, the US Selective Service, where people are pulled from if there is ever another military draft, excludes women. Should the ERA be put into effect, though, this would no longer be the case and women could be drafted.

The ERA had a long history in Congress, finally being sent to the states in 1972. Unlike previous Amendments, though, a time limit was put on the ERA. Originally, the Amendment had to be approved by the 38 required states by March 22, 1979. When this deadline began to get close, however, and there still hadn't been enough ratifications, the deadline was moved to June 30, 1982. However, this deadline came and went and there still weren't enough ratifications. In total, 35 states ratified the Amendment, four withdrew their ratification (Nebraska, Idaho, Tennessee, and Kentucky) and one after the intial 1979 deadline (South Dakota) but that begs the question of whether or not a state can rescind their ratification of an amendment. The ERA also brings up the question of whether or not it is constitutional to put a time limit on how long states can vote on an Amendment. To challenge the idea of the deadline, two states (Illinois and Nevada) have ratified it in the past two years. If one more state were to ratify the Amendment then a lawsuit concerning the two questions posited above (can states rescind ratifications and can Amendments have deadlines) would be brought before the courts, and would likely go to the Supreme Court.

If the court decides to throw out the recessions and and the deadline, then the Equal Rights Amendment, upon the Court's decision, would be ratified by the necessary number of states and, as its language states, it would go into effect two years later. If the Court only throws out the deadline, then 6 more states need to ratify it, and if the Court allows the deadlines to remain in effect, then a new ERA would need to be drafted. Currently, there are seven states in which one house has ratified the Amendment, those states being Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Virginia, Virginia having done so as recently as 2011. Should any one of these states, or any of the 6 that haven't voted on it (Utah, Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia) then the ERA could be back in business.

Joshua Koff

Username: Jdkofny

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