The Equal Rights Amendment states: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”

In modern America, this seems like a simple concept, but its specifics are surprisingly controversial. Here, we’ll walk through the timeline and different perspectives of the Equal Rights Amendment, including the voices of Mounties on this issue.

The Early Years: Origins and Initial Efforts

Women won the right to vote in 1920 but decided that the work wasn’t done. In 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment was brought to Congress by Senator Curtis and Representative Anthony, the latter being the suffragist Susan B. Anthony’s nephew.

The efforts of Alice Paul impelled the amendment into both Houses of Congress. In 1946, the Senate defeated the motion, 38-35. However in 1950, it was passed by the Senate with contingencies that invalidated the crux of the amendment: equal protection for women under law.

In 1967, the National Organization for Women (NOW), a feminist group, was founded and vowed to fight to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. After disrupting hearings of the Senate, the NOW’s actions led the Senate Subcommittee to begin hearings on the Equal Rights Amendment once more.

Deadline Extensions and Growing Opposition

On March 22nd, 1972, the full senate approved the Equal Rights Amendment without any modifications. States slowly began ratifying the amendment. Support from the ERA and opposition from certain right-wing groups begins to clash.

For proposed amendments, there is a deadline of seven years for ratification, except for the 19th amendment for women’s suffrage. As the deadline approached, groups lobbied for extensions, which they received. The extension became a hot topic, leading to contention within counter groups, many of whom attempted to pass rescission bills to counter support for the ERA.

Among those who opposed the amendment and extension was Ronald Reagan, and in 1981, he had the ERA ratification deadline extension declared illegal. This was the first time an Act of Congress was deemed unconstitutional by a federal court.

In 1982, the House of Representatives failed to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, yet, since then, it has been reintroduced into Congress.

Although the amendment has been reintroduced to every session of Congress, it has yet to be passed and is not yet a part of the U.S. Constitution.

Diverse Perspectives on the ERA

“I think it’s dumb that it’s been proposed for like a century now and still hasn’t been implemented”, Ynez Doyle ‘26 said.

On the surface, the ERA doesn’t seem like it should spark controversy, yet its proposal has sparked nothing but. Why?

One perspective on the ERA is that its prohibition of acting “on the account of sex” would have unintended consequences on the fight against sex inequality. According to some, it would disband financial support and lead to significant and unnecessary changes to gender-specific affairs.

To go even further, some have argued that its implementation would eliminate exemptions from military service and even go as far as eliminating women’s programs and scholarships. Additionally, it could potentially reverse the overturning of Roe vs Wade; saying that would be controversial is an understatement.

On the other hand, many view the Equal Rights Amendment as necessary for the advancement of gender-based equality. “Equal rights should have been guaranteed since the penning of the constitution, not a basic liberty that had to be fought for,” Grace Meehan ‘26 says. The ERA would clarify legal issues that are often very debated in present day politics. Federal court decisions would then be motivated to take into account experiences of gender inequality and cement these rights into the Constitution, which is not reversible in the same way other laws are presently.

It has been 104 years since women have gained the right to vote. The fact is that, after 101 years, the Equal Rights Amendment has not yet been enacted into the U.S Constitution.

Sources:

• https://now.org/resource/chronology-of-the-equal-rights-amendment-1923-1996/
• https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artV-4-2-1/ALDE_00013054/
• https://www.americanprogress.org/article/what-comes-next-for-the-equal-rights-amendment/
• https://www.congress.gov/116/meeting/house/109330/documents/HHRG-116-JU10-20190430-SD013.pdf