
Supporters of the ERA push for publication despite lingering legal questions
CNN
Backers of the Equal Rights Amendment are pressuring the Biden administration and the US archivist to publish the amendment, arguing that the ERA should be taking effect on Thursday.
Believing that the ERA has satisfied all the necessary constitutional requirements, supporters are demanding that US Archivist David Ferriero, who's set to retire in April, publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution as part of his ministerial duties. Ferriero has not publicly indicated that he plans to publish the amendment, and the National Archives referred CNN to the Department of Justice for comment.
Two years ago Thursday, Virginia ratified the ERA, becoming the 38th state to do so and, in supporters' eyes, clinching the necessary benchmark for addition to the US Constitution nearly a half-century after the amendment began making its way through state legislatures. But the necessary threshold was not reached by a 1982 deadline and five of the states rescinded their support of the ERA, opening significant legal questions.