01.25.17

Durbin Calls Ratification Of Equal Rights Amendment Long Overdue

Co-sponsors joint resolution to remove deadline for states to ratify constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal rights for women

WASHINGTON – On the heels of the historic Women’s March on Washington, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and 24 other senators in calling for the removal of the deadline set by Congress for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). When the ERA was passed in 1972, Congress stipulated in a joint resolution that the amendment had to be ratified by three-fourths of the states within seven years. It later extended that deadline until 1982. 35 of the required 38 states had ratified the amendment by the revised deadline.
  
“This weekend we witnessed millions of women from all backgrounds and corners of the country coming together to demand equal rights. I was at the rally in Springfield, Illinois, and I heard loud and clear the same call for justice and dignity and rejection of all forms of discrimination,” said Durbin. “These are not radical ideas – they are fundamental American rights. Women have been waiting far too long for our nation’s most important document to reflect their humanity and value to the United States. Allowing additional states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment will help us make amends for the errors of the past and move forward on our path to becoming a more perfect union.”
  
There is precedent for constitutional amendments remaining legally viable long after their passage in Congress. In 1992, the 27th Amendment prohibiting immediate congressional pay increases was ratified after 203 years.