Equal Rights Amendment

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have guaranteed equal rights under law for Americans regardless of gender.

Mixed reception in state legislatures

The initial pace of state legislative ratifications was rapid during 1972 and 1973, but then slowed considerably with only three ratifications during 1974, just one in 1975, none at all in 1976, and only one in 1977. The 92nd Congress, in proposing the ERA, had set a seven-year time limit for the Amendment's ratification, and by the end of that deadline on March 22, 1979, a total of 35 of the required 38 states had ratified it. Also, as of that date, four of those 35 states had subsequently adopted resolutions to rescind their earlier ratifications and a fifth state adopted a resolution declaring that is earlier approval of the ERA would not extend beyond March 22, 1979 (more on that below).

Related Topics:
State legislative - 1973 - 1974 - 1975 - 1976 - 1977 - Deadline - March 22 - 1979

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At various times, in eight of the 15 non-ratifying states, at least one chamber of the legislature approved the ERA, those eight states being:

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• Florida whose House of Representatives voted to ratify the ERA on March 24, 1972, with a tally of 91 to 4; a second time on April 10, 1975, with a tally of 62 to 58; a third time on May 17, 1979, with a tally of 66 to 53; and a fourth time on June 21, 1982, with a tally of 60 to 58.
• Illinois whose Senate voted to ratify the ERA in May of 1972, with a tally of 30 to 21; and whose House of Representatives voted to ratify the ERA on May 1, 1975, with a tally of 113 to 62; and again on May 21, 2003, with a tally of 76 to 41. It should be noted that, at various times, votes were conducted in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly on the question of ratifying the ERA and while most members voted in favor of ratification, the result would often be less than the three-fifths supermajority vote—a requirement that existed in Illinois when those votes were cast.
• Louisiana whose Senate voted to ratify the ERA on June 7, 1972, with a tally of 25 to 13.
• Missouri whose House of Representatives voted to ratify the ERA on February 7, 1975, with a tally of 82 to 75.
• Nevada whose Assembly voted to ratify the ERA on February 17, 1975, with a tally of 27 to 13; and whose Senate voted to ratify the ERA on February 8, 1977, with a tally of 11 to 10.
• North Carolina whose House of Representatives voted to ratify the ERA on February 9, 1977, with a tally of 61 to 55.
• Oklahoma whose Senate voted to ratify the ERA on March 23, 1972, by a Voice Vote.
• South Carolina whose House of Representatives voted to ratify the ERA on March 22, 1972, with a tally of 83 to Zero.

On the other hand, and as previously noted, four of the 35 states which did fully approve the ERA early on later acted to rescind their ratifications and a fifth state announced that—while not actually rescinding its previous assent to the ERA—that assent would last only until March 22, 1979. The following are those actions:

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• Idaho which ratified the ERA on March 24, 1972, by approving Senate Joint Resolution No. 133, and which then adopted House Concurrent Resolution No. 10 on February 8, 1977, to rescind that ratification.
• Kentucky which ratified the ERA on June 26, 1972, by approving House (Joint) Resolution No. 2, and which then adopted House (Joint) Resolution No. 20 on March 17, 1978, to rescind that ratification; there is some speculation about Kentucky's rescission in that the rescinding resolution was vetoed by the Lieutenant Governor who was acting as Governor in the Governor's absence.
• Nebraska which ratified the ERA on March 29, 1972, by approving the erroneously-worded Legislative Resolution No. 83 and then approving the correctly-worded Legislative Resolution No. 86; Nebraska lawmakers then adopted Legislative Resolution No. 9 on March 15, 1973, to rescind only the aforementioned Legislative Resolution No. 83.
• Tennessee which ratified the ERA on April 4, 1972, by approving House Joint Resolution No. 371, and which then adopted Senate Joint Resolution No. 29 on April 23, 1974, to rescind that ratification.

It is believed by some scholars that a state legislature cannot rescind its prior ratification of a proposed Federal constitutional amendment, a Congressional precedent—not a judicial precedent—established in 1868 with irregularities involving the ratification of the 14th Amendment. (See Article V of the United States Constitution.)

Related Topics:
1868 - 14th Amendment - Article V of the United States Constitution

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In the specific case of South Dakota, its lawmakers ratified the ERA on February 5, 1973, by approving Senate Joint Resolution No. 1; then South Dakota legislators adopted Senate Joint Resolution No. 2 on March 1, 1979, stipulating that the ERA's opportunity for ratification—by any state of the Union—would expire on March 22, 1979; furthermore, Senate Joint Resolution No. 2 made clear that South Dakota's own ratification would only be valid up until March 22, 1979, and that any activities transpiring after that date would be considered by South Dakota to be null and void.

Related Topics:
South Dakota - February 5 - 1973 - March 1 - 1979

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