The Virginia state legislature just "ratified" the Equal Rights Amendment, and proponents are arguing that this satisfies the Constitution's requirement that 3/4ths of the states must ratify any amendment proposals.
But Rita Dunaway, Convention of States National Legislative Strategist, pointed out in a recent op-ed that the ERA issue is anything but settled. In fact, proponents are simply ignoring federal rulings along with the clear intentions of other state legislatures.
Congress proposed the ERA in 1972. It set a 7-year deadline for the necessary 38 states to ratify it. When Congress saw that the deadline would not be met, it tried to extend the deadline to 1982. A federal court ruled that this was illegal — that Congress is not permitted to change the ratification process once it has begun.
No court has ever ruled otherwise. Simply put, there is no serious grounds for suggesting that the beleaguered ERA is anything but dead as a doornail.
Even supposing that the states or Congress could ignore the original deadline, the ERA would still not be ratified.
But wait! There’s more! Even supposing that the states or Congress could ignore the original deadline, the ERA would still not be ratified. Why? Because a handful of states that initially ratified it later rescinded their ratifications.
Thus, as Article V expert Professor Rob Natelson describes it, the ERA campaign would have us believe “That every ratification counts, no matter how late; but that no state rescission counts, no matter how timely.” Sorry, but this doesn’t pass the straight face test.
ERA advocates can hold their press conferences, dance their victory dances and tie up the courts in frivolous lawsuits, but the ERA is dead. I, for one, am not sorry. The proposal is both unnecessary and poorly-drafted.
While politicians and special interests continue to beat their long-dead horse, I can only hope that their efforts will result in a new conversation about Article V. Let’s talk about amendments that we really do need in America today, and how we might actually obtain them.
The American people can propose amendments that they actually need, but not like this. Article V allows both Congress and a "convention for proposing amendments" to submit amendments for state ratification, and this second option has been gaining momentum across the country.
The Convention of States movement is urging state legislatures to adopt identical resolutions calling for a Convention of States to propose amendments in three subject categories:
- To limit the terms of office for federal officials.
- To impose fiscal restraints on the federal government.
- To limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.
Once 34 states call for such a convention, the states can meet to propose amendments. Once those proposals are agreed upon by a majority of the states, they're submitted back to the states for ratification.
This is the way the Founders wanted We the People to amend our founding document. Not by ignoring the Constitution or court precedent, but by coming together and restoring the values that have made our nation great.
If you want to get involved, sign the Convention of States Petition below!
