Equal Rights Amendment may pass now

Of all the things that Virginia may pass now that Democrats have won control of the state legislature, none have been so long in the making as the Equal Rights Amendment.

First proposed almost a century ago and passed by Congress in 1972, the constitutional amendment — whose main clause reads, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” — was ratified by only 35 of the necessary 38 states before a 1982 deadline.

Nearly four decades later, in 2017, Nevada became the 36th. In 2018, Illinois was the 37th. Now, Virginia’s incoming Democratic leaders have promised to take up the amendment immediately when the legislature convenes in January — and given that it failed in the Virginia Senate by only one vote when the body was under Republican control, passage is almost assured.

“If we get it to the floor and let people vote, then it will become law,” Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, told reporters Wednesday. “Virginia will be next in line to pass the ERA.”

Advocates, almost giddy in interviews Wednesday, said ratification seemed more likely than it had at any point in the past 40 years.

“It was so exhilarating,” Carol Jenkins, co-president and chief executive of the ERA Coalition, said of watching the election results come in. “This was first introduced in 1923, so almost a century of someone working to get equality for girls and women in this country, and this is as close as we’ve ever gotten.”

The biggest question now is whether Congress will remove the deadline — or whether the deadline was ever enforceable to begin with. The Democratic-led House held a hearing in April on a resolution to repeal the deadline and is likely to pass it. The next step is a House Judiciary Committee markup, which has not been scheduled, but which advocates are expecting to take place within weeks.

What the Republican-led Senate will do is less certain: As is the case with any legislation, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, could refuse to allow a vote.

Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., the primary sponsor of the Senate resolution, said in an interview Wednesday that he believed the amendment had enough votes to pass if McConnell brought it to the floor.