Source: Law & Liberty
by John G Grove
“The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was proposed in 1972 with a seven-year deadline for ratification. Following a contentious debate, that deadline was not met, nor was an extended deadline of 1982 (the validity of which is questionable). The amendment, therefore, was defeated over 45 years ago. Moreover, several states rescinded their ratification well before Virginia’s pantomime. So while it is sometimes reported that the Old Dominion became the ’38th state to ratify,’ which would put the amendment over the requisite two-thirds majority, it was really nothing of the sort.” [editor’s note: The constitutional text empowers neither Congress to set deadlines nor state legislatures to un-ratify – TLK] (02/12/25)