Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in a bipartisan, bicameral joint resolution to affirm the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and take a critical step toward enshrining equality for women in the United States Constitution. The resolution removes the arbitrary deadline for ratification of the ERA and recognizes the amendment as a valid part of the Constitution, with the 38-state threshold needed for ratification of the ERA having been met.
“The women and girls of this country deserve to see equality enshrined in their Constitution. That’s what Nevadans fought for when we ratified the Equal Rights Amendment in 2017 and when we added it to our state constitution this year,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “More than three-quarters of the states have approved this amendment’s protections, and it’s time Congress remove the arbitrary deadline and formally recognize the ERA as the law of the land.”
Since its approval by the House of Representatives and the Senate in 1971 and 1972, respectively, the ERA has reached the constitutionally required threshold of ratification with the recent ratifications of the ERA by Nevada in 2017, Illinois in 2018 and Virginia in 2020. As the 28th Amendment, the ERA would serve as a new tool – for Congress, for federal agencies, and in the courts – to advance equality in the fields of workforce and pay, pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment and violence, reproductive autonomy, and protections for LGBTQ individuals. Enshrining this protection in our Constitution also ensures enduring protections for all Americans across the country.
The text of the resolution is available here.
Senator Cortez Masto has been a strong supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, calling on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to withdraw an opinion standing in the way of the ERA’s recognition as the 28th Amendment and supporting Nevada’s lawsuit requiring the Archivist of the United States to certify the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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