'This Is a Victory': Biden Affirms ERA Has Been 'Ratified' and Law of the Land
"It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people," said the president.
Advocates march to demand the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. 1975
Julia Conley
Jan 17, 2025
"It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people," said the president.
Advocates march to demand the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. 1975
U.S. President Joe Biden on January 17, 2025 said the ERA is ratified.
(Photo: Barbara Freeman/Getty Images)
(Photo: Barbara Freeman/Getty Images)
Julia Conley
Jan 17, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
More than half a century after the U.S. Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment, President Joe Biden on Friday announced his administration's official opinion that the amendment is ratified and its protections against sex-based discrimination are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
The announcement has been long demanded by rights advocates including Democratic lawmakers who have recently called on Biden to affirm the ERA's ratification in order to protect reproductive rights that have been gutted by the Republican Party.
"It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people," said Biden. "In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex."
The statement came five years after Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA. With that move, state lawmakers completed the requirement that three-fourths of U.S. states ratify the amendment.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, ratification deadlines that were set by Congress after the ERA had passed by the time Virginia ratified the amendment, and five states have rescinded their approval.
But a senior White House official toldCNN Friday that the president's decision was informed by the American Bar Association's opinion that "no time limit was included in the text of the Equal Rights Amendment."
"The Constitution's framers wisely avoided the chaos that would have resulted if states were able to take back the ratifying votes at any time," according to the legal association.
Former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who in November called on Biden to take every action available to him in order to protect reproductive rights, including ensuring the ERA was recognized as part of the Constitution, called the president's announcement "an historic and consequential step."
"For over a century, we have fought for the principle that 'equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex,'" said Bush. "These 24 words must now be published and enshrined in our Constitution to provide a crucial safeguard against discrimination for women, LGBTQ+ folks, and all marginalized communities."
With Biden issuing his opinion, advocates have held that the archivist of the United States, Colleen Shogan, must now certify and publish the amendment.
In December, Shogan released a statement saying that in 2020 and 2022, "the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable" arguing that the ERA could not be certified.
The senior administration official told CNN that Shogan "is required to publish an amendment once it has been effectively ratified."
"It will be up to the courts to interpret this and their view of the Equal Rights Amendment," they added.
Kate Kelly, a human rights lawyer who wrote the book Ordinary Equality about the ERA, asserted the amendment has been part of the Constitution since it was ratified by Virginia in 2020.
"The Archivist has no constitutional or legal role in the amending process," said Kelly. "She does NOT get to decide what is or is not in the U.S. Constitution. Her boss (the president of the United States) has spoken for his administration. That's it. The ERA is in! This is a victory."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said Biden's action on Friday honored "the work of generations of activists and organizers for equal rights."
"While we still have much work to do to ensure that the next generation of women has more, not less, rights than previous generations, this is an important declaration," said Jayapal. "Now we must do the work to truly make this the practice of the land."
More than half a century after the U.S. Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment, President Joe Biden on Friday announced his administration's official opinion that the amendment is ratified and its protections against sex-based discrimination are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
The announcement has been long demanded by rights advocates including Democratic lawmakers who have recently called on Biden to affirm the ERA's ratification in order to protect reproductive rights that have been gutted by the Republican Party.
"It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people," said Biden. "In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex."
The statement came five years after Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA. With that move, state lawmakers completed the requirement that three-fourths of U.S. states ratify the amendment.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, ratification deadlines that were set by Congress after the ERA had passed by the time Virginia ratified the amendment, and five states have rescinded their approval.
But a senior White House official toldCNN Friday that the president's decision was informed by the American Bar Association's opinion that "no time limit was included in the text of the Equal Rights Amendment."
"The Constitution's framers wisely avoided the chaos that would have resulted if states were able to take back the ratifying votes at any time," according to the legal association.
Former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who in November called on Biden to take every action available to him in order to protect reproductive rights, including ensuring the ERA was recognized as part of the Constitution, called the president's announcement "an historic and consequential step."
"For over a century, we have fought for the principle that 'equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex,'" said Bush. "These 24 words must now be published and enshrined in our Constitution to provide a crucial safeguard against discrimination for women, LGBTQ+ folks, and all marginalized communities."
With Biden issuing his opinion, advocates have held that the archivist of the United States, Colleen Shogan, must now certify and publish the amendment.
In December, Shogan released a statement saying that in 2020 and 2022, "the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable" arguing that the ERA could not be certified.
The senior administration official told CNN that Shogan "is required to publish an amendment once it has been effectively ratified."
"It will be up to the courts to interpret this and their view of the Equal Rights Amendment," they added.
Kate Kelly, a human rights lawyer who wrote the book Ordinary Equality about the ERA, asserted the amendment has been part of the Constitution since it was ratified by Virginia in 2020.
"The Archivist has no constitutional or legal role in the amending process," said Kelly. "She does NOT get to decide what is or is not in the U.S. Constitution. Her boss (the president of the United States) has spoken for his administration. That's it. The ERA is in! This is a victory."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said Biden's action on Friday honored "the work of generations of activists and organizers for equal rights."
"While we still have much work to do to ensure that the next generation of women has more, not less, rights than previous generations, this is an important declaration," said Jayapal. "Now we must do the work to truly make this the practice of the land."
Biden sparks legal battle by declaring Equal Rights Amendment is now 'law of the land'
President Joe Biden, Image via Screengrab.
David Badash
President Joe Biden, Image via Screengrab.
David Badash
January 17, 2025
ALTERNET
President Joe Biden, just days before he will exit the White House, announced on Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment, which would enshrine in the U.S. Constitution equal rights for women, is now the 28th Amendment and “the law of the land.” Although he has some legal scholars backing this declaration, experts say there are still legal hurdles and a legal battle to overcome.
“Today I’m affirming what I have long believed and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex,” President Biden wrote. “I have supported the Equal Rights Amendment for more than 50 years and have long been clear that no one should be discriminated against based on their sex. We must affirm and protect women’s full equality once and for all.”
“On January 27, 2020,” President Biden explained in his statement on the White House website, “the Commonwealth of Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized that the Equal Rights Amendment has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment. I agree with the ABA and with leading legal constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution.”
“It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.”
CNN calls Biden’s announcement “a last-minute move that some believe could pave the way to bolstering reproductive rights.”
“It will, however, certainly draw swift legal challenges – and its next steps remain extremely unclear as Biden prepares to leave office.”
The news network also credits U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) with “making a major push for certification, saying in a memo to interested parties that it would give Biden a way to ‘codify women’s freedom and equality without needing anything from a bitterly divided and broken Congress’ in the aftermath of the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
In 2020, after Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA, the necessary requirement of three-fourths ratification may have been met.
As The Brennan Center for Justice noted just days later, “there are still hurdles in the ERA’s path. The ratification deadlines that Congress set after it approved the amendment have lapsed, and five states have acted to rescind their prior approval. These raise important questions, and now it is up to Congress, the courts, and the American people to resolve them.”
Congress could try to waive the deadline and try to ignore the states that rescinded their ratification.
President Biden did not order the National Archivist to certify the ERA as the 28th Amendment. Some have suggested neither has the legal authority to do so at this point.
But some have also suggested the deadline was unconstitutional.
The Associated Press called President Biden’s declaration “a symbolic statement that’s unlikely to alter a decades-long push for gender equality,” and “unlikely to have any impact.”
“Presidents do not have any role in the amendment process. The leader of the National Archives had previously said that the amendment cannot be certified because it wasn’t ratified before a deadline set by Congress,” the AP added. It noted that the National Archives said, “the underlying legal and procedural issues have not changed.”
President Joe Biden, just days before he will exit the White House, announced on Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment, which would enshrine in the U.S. Constitution equal rights for women, is now the 28th Amendment and “the law of the land.” Although he has some legal scholars backing this declaration, experts say there are still legal hurdles and a legal battle to overcome.
“Today I’m affirming what I have long believed and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex,” President Biden wrote. “I have supported the Equal Rights Amendment for more than 50 years and have long been clear that no one should be discriminated against based on their sex. We must affirm and protect women’s full equality once and for all.”
“On January 27, 2020,” President Biden explained in his statement on the White House website, “the Commonwealth of Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized that the Equal Rights Amendment has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment. I agree with the ABA and with leading legal constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution.”
“It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.”
CNN calls Biden’s announcement “a last-minute move that some believe could pave the way to bolstering reproductive rights.”
“It will, however, certainly draw swift legal challenges – and its next steps remain extremely unclear as Biden prepares to leave office.”
The news network also credits U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) with “making a major push for certification, saying in a memo to interested parties that it would give Biden a way to ‘codify women’s freedom and equality without needing anything from a bitterly divided and broken Congress’ in the aftermath of the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
In 2020, after Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA, the necessary requirement of three-fourths ratification may have been met.
As The Brennan Center for Justice noted just days later, “there are still hurdles in the ERA’s path. The ratification deadlines that Congress set after it approved the amendment have lapsed, and five states have acted to rescind their prior approval. These raise important questions, and now it is up to Congress, the courts, and the American people to resolve them.”
Congress could try to waive the deadline and try to ignore the states that rescinded their ratification.
President Biden did not order the National Archivist to certify the ERA as the 28th Amendment. Some have suggested neither has the legal authority to do so at this point.
But some have also suggested the deadline was unconstitutional.
The Associated Press called President Biden’s declaration “a symbolic statement that’s unlikely to alter a decades-long push for gender equality,” and “unlikely to have any impact.”
“Presidents do not have any role in the amendment process. The leader of the National Archives had previously said that the amendment cannot be certified because it wasn’t ratified before a deadline set by Congress,” the AP added. It noted that the National Archives said, “the underlying legal and procedural issues have not changed.”
'No reason it shouldn't be done': Democrats cheer Biden's latest move on equal rights
Sarah K. Burris
January 17, 2025
RAW STORY
Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz.
In a statement, Biden said Virginia's 2020 vote means that enough states have ratified the law. This move will likely begin the legal debate over whether it is official and can be considered law. Congress had set a timeline for ratification, and Virginia's ratification was after that deadline.
"The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized that the Equal Rights Amendment has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment. I agree with the ABA and with leading legal constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution," Biden said in a statement.
READ ALSO: America is marching toward theocracy one zygote at a time
The move caused a lot of shock and anticipation across the left.
Demcast host Nick Kundsen exclaimed, "Holy S---," responding to the unexpected news.
"But there's still another step -- and a legal fight -- ahead," said Moms Demand Action Shannon Watts.
"But he also has no formal role in the process, and WH officials say he is not ordering the archivist to help ratify it," said Washington Post reporter Matt Viser.
Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance wrote a Blue Sky thread on the legal debate saying, "The ERA needs to be formally published or certified to come into effect by the National Archivist — it's not clear what that means with the change in administrations."
"Next the archivist should publish the ERA. That task is 'purely ministerial,' he's required to do it once the law is ratified," she added. "It could happen today but more likely, Biden has put Trump in the position of letting it go into effect or holding it up. If Trump does, expect lawsuits because, ministerial."
She also pointed out that Trump has promised to replace the Archivist because the incumbent in the office played a role "in noticing Trump was illegally holding on to classified documents and asking to get them back. So, expect the new guy to be thoroughly in Trump's control."
"There is a legitimate legal issue BUT, there is no impediment to putting ERA into law, IF elected officials agree women deserve equal rights. There is no reason it shouldn't be done," she said, implying that Biden is forcing Republicans to argue women don't deserve equal rights publicly.
She also shared a 2020 explainer from The Brennan Center for Justice about it.
President Joe Biden announced on Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) has officially been affirmed.
Sarah K. Burris
January 17, 2025
RAW STORY
Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz.
In a statement, Biden said Virginia's 2020 vote means that enough states have ratified the law. This move will likely begin the legal debate over whether it is official and can be considered law. Congress had set a timeline for ratification, and Virginia's ratification was after that deadline.
"The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized that the Equal Rights Amendment has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment. I agree with the ABA and with leading legal constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution," Biden said in a statement.
READ ALSO: America is marching toward theocracy one zygote at a time
The move caused a lot of shock and anticipation across the left.
Demcast host Nick Kundsen exclaimed, "Holy S---," responding to the unexpected news.
"But there's still another step -- and a legal fight -- ahead," said Moms Demand Action Shannon Watts.
"But he also has no formal role in the process, and WH officials say he is not ordering the archivist to help ratify it," said Washington Post reporter Matt Viser.
Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance wrote a Blue Sky thread on the legal debate saying, "The ERA needs to be formally published or certified to come into effect by the National Archivist — it's not clear what that means with the change in administrations."
"Next the archivist should publish the ERA. That task is 'purely ministerial,' he's required to do it once the law is ratified," she added. "It could happen today but more likely, Biden has put Trump in the position of letting it go into effect or holding it up. If Trump does, expect lawsuits because, ministerial."
She also pointed out that Trump has promised to replace the Archivist because the incumbent in the office played a role "in noticing Trump was illegally holding on to classified documents and asking to get them back. So, expect the new guy to be thoroughly in Trump's control."
"There is a legitimate legal issue BUT, there is no impediment to putting ERA into law, IF elected officials agree women deserve equal rights. There is no reason it shouldn't be done," she said, implying that Biden is forcing Republicans to argue women don't deserve equal rights publicly.
She also shared a 2020 explainer from The Brennan Center for Justice about it.
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