Votes push Va. toward ERA ratification

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia moved to the brink of becoming the crucial 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Wednesday, a momentous victory for many women’s rights advocates even though it is far from certain the measure will ever be added to the U.S. Constitution.

The affirmative votes in both chambers of the Virginia legislature came decades after Congress passed the ERA with bipartisan support, sending it the states in 1972.

ERA advocates say hitting the 38state mark means the amendment will have surpassed the three-quarters of states the amendment needs to be added to the Constitution.

Court battles are expected to unfold over a long-passed 1982 ratification deadline set by Congress, as well as moves by five states that ratified it in the 1970s to rescind their support.

ERA advocates say the measure would enshrine equality for women in the Constitution, offering stronger protections in sex discrimination cases. They also argue the ERA would give Congress firmer ground to pass anti-discrimination laws.