With Virginia’s ratification, Equal Rights Amendment advances

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia officially became the critical 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Monday, clearing the way for likely court fights over whether the measure can be added to the U.S. Constitution.

State lawmakers made history earlier this month when each chamber of the General Assembly separately approved ratification resolutions. On Monday, the House and Senate took the final procedural step of signing off on each other’s measures.

“We must begin to see a world without discrimination of any kind,” Democratic Sen. Mamie Locke said, speaking in support of the measure. “Equality based on sex is not just good for women, it is good for society.”

Both chambers advanced the resolutions on bipartisan votes overseen by women. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who usually presides over the Senate, deferred to Senate President pro tempore Louise Lucas, and House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn presided in that chamber. Both Filler-Corn and Lucas share the distinction of being the first women to hold their respective titles.

Virginia’s ratification opens a new chapter in the nearly centurylong push to get the amendment added to the Constitution. Constitutional amendments must be ratified by three-quarters of the states, or 38. But the ERA’s future is uncertain, in part because of a 1982 deadline for ratification that Congress enacted decades ago.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Justice Department issued a legal memo concluding that because the deadline has expired, it is too late for states to ratify the ERA. The only option for supporters now is to begin the ratification process all over again in Congress, the department said.