Democrats frustrated after 100 years of failure on Equal Rights Amendment
Misty Severi
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Multiple Democrats shared their frustration over the Senate’s failure to advance legislation to remove a deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Thursday.
The vote, introduced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), failed 51-47. The Equal Rights Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal rights under the law regardless of sex, was first introduced in Congress in 1923, but it did not pass until 1972.
SENATE TO VOTE ON EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT RATIFICATION
“We are here standing united with [Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD)], and [Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO)], and more for the Equal Rights Amendment,” Schumer tweeted. “We will fight side-by-side to establish the full Constitutional equality women deserve. This vote was one more step in the march for equality, and we’ll keep fighting until we win.”
https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1651664480923688963
Constitutional amendments require ratification from at least three-quarters of all 50 states, a minimum of 38 states, to be added to the Constitution. Congress had set a 1979 deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment to be ratified by the states, but it later extended the deadline to 1982. However, only 35 states had ratified it by 1982.
Three additional states, Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia, have since ratified the amendment, giving the Equal Rights Amendment the necessary support to be added to the Constitution if not for the deadline.
“Today, Senate Republicans blocked the Equal Rights Amendment. Gender equality is a fundamental promise of democracy, and POTUS and I will continue to fight for it,” Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted.
https://twitter.com/VP/status/1651702073057067010
A dozen House Democrats marched to the Senate floor on Thursday to protest the body’s vote against the removal of the deadline.
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“It’s a shame that 100 years after the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced, we are still fighting for gender equality in our Constitution,” Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) tweeted. “So today, we marched to the Senate floor to demand Congress finally pass the #EqualRightsAmendment.”
https://twitter.com/RepSummerLee/status/1651699696249831424
Although the resolution failed, Schumer switched his vote from yes to no after the vote to bring the resolution back up for consideration later.