THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
(Proposed in 1972 as the 27th Amendment but not ratified)
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by
the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of
ratification.
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Background and History
On March 22, 1972, Congress sent the proposed 27th Amendment (The Equal Rights
Amendment or ERA) to the Constitution to the states for ratification. Congress placed a sevenyear deadline on the ratification process. The ERA made headway quickly, getting 22 of the
necessary 38 state ratifications in the first year. The pace of ratification, however, slowed as
opposition began to organize – only eight states ratified in 1973, three in 1974, one in 1975, and
none in 1976.
Ratification prospects for the ERA dimmed after 1976 as states postponed consideration
or defeated ratification bills. As opposition grew stronger, some of the states, which had earlier
ratified the ERA, proposed or passed rescission bills, despite legal precedent that states do not
have the power to retract ratification.
As the 1979 deadline approached ERA advocates appealed to Congress for an indefinite
extension of the time limit and Congress granted an extension until June 30, 1982—but no
additional states ratified the amendment.
The Equal Rights Amendment was reintroduced in Congress on July 14, 1982 and has
been before every session of Congress since that time—but has yet to secure the two-thirds
majorities of both houses to be proposed again to the states.
SOURCE: (http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/era.htm)