Raoul joins 2 other states suing U.S. to adopt ERA
RICHMOND, Va. — Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and two other Democratic state attorneys general sued a U.S. government official Thursday, seeking to force him to recognize Virginia’s recent vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and adopt the measure in the Constitution.
The lawsuit filed against the archivist of the United States comes after the National Archives and Records Administration said this week that David Ferriero would “take no action to certify the adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment.”
Virginia on Monday became the 38th state to ratify the measure that supporters say will guarantee women equal rights under the law. 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 ratification deadline enacted by Congress that passed decades ago.
Many legal observers have long expected the issue to make its way to the Supreme Court. Thursday’s lawsuit brought by Raoul, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford argued that the deadline, which was first set for 1979 and later extended to 1982, is not binding.
“After generations of effort, the women of this country are entitled to their rightful place in the Constitution. This Court should compel the Archivist to carry out his statutory duty of recognizing the complete and final adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment,” the lawsuit said.
The press office of the National Archives and Records Administration referred a request for comment to the Department of Justice, which declined comment.