‘Law of the Land:’ Biden Signals Equal Rights Amendment Should Be Ratified | News about women’s rights

Outgoing President Joe Biden has emphasized an attempt to enshrine the equality amendment in the US Constitution.

Friday’s announcement was the latest in a series of 11th-hour statements and actions by the executive branch as Biden seeks to cement his legacy despite a single term in office.

In a news story releaseBiden offered unequivocal support for the proposed amendment, which states that equal rights under the law shall not be denied “because of sex.”

He also argued that it should be considered the law of the land, despite ongoing legal ambiguities.

“I have supported the Equal Rights Amendment for more than 50 years, and I have long recognized that no one should be discriminated against because of their gender,” Biden said.

“We as a nation must affirm and protect the full equality of women once and for all.”

Legal ambiguity

While the US Constitution guarantees “equal protection of the laws” to all citizens, nowhere in the document does it explicitly state gender or sex.

That has led some scholars and activists to argue that the Equality Amendment is necessary to prevent judges from dismissing sex- or gender-based discrimination as falling outside the law’s mandate.

The late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, was among those who held that the Constitution’s protections did not extend to gender or sex.

“You don’t need the Constitution to reflect the desires of current society,” Scalia told the publication California Lawyer in 2011. “The Constitution certainly does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only question is whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t.”

More recently, in 2022, Justice Clarence Thomas issued an opinion that the Supreme Court “should reconsider” cases that established the right to same-sex marriage and birth control on the basis that they may not fall under constitutional protection.

He called these precedents “demonstrably erroneous decisions”.

Rocky road to ratification

It is unclear whether Biden’s statement on Friday will allow the equality amendments to overcome the final hurdles to be considered established law.

The change has been a long time coming. Beginning in 1923, lawmakers repeatedly tried to pass versions of the amendment several times, only to find the U.S. Congress largely opposed.

But as the 20th century progressed, the makeup of Congress began to change, with more women and minority politicians joining the largely white male legislature.

In 1971, Democrat Martha Griffiths reintroduced the Gender Equality Amendment in the House of Representatives – and it passed with the necessary two-thirds support. The next year, the Senate took up the bill and also gave its overwhelming approval.

But amending the US Constitution is a difficult process, one that requires buy-in from both the federal and state levels. Three-quarters of state legislatures would also have to ratify the amendment.

This is where the equality supplement ran aground. Congress had given seven years to ratify the amendment – but only 35 states had done so at that time. A total of 38 states, out of 50, were needed.

Even when Congress extended the deadline to 1982, no other state ratified the amendment. The Equal Rights Amendment was considered largely defeated.

A renewed push

But recent concerns over access to abortion and threats to LGBTQ rights have revived interest in the amendment. Legal groups, including the American Bar Association, have questioned whether the imposition of a deadline was constitutional in the first place.

And states again began looking at ratifying the law. It won approval from Nevada in 2017. Then Illinois in 2018. And in 2020, Virginia became the crucial 38th state to ratify it.

Biden said he believes that action made the Equal Rights Amendment the law of the land.

“In accordance with my oath and duty to the Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing to all Americans equal rights and protection under the law regardless of their gender,” he wrote in Friday’s statement.

But the legal fate of the equality supplement is still unclear. Some states have taken steps to revoke their original ratification, including Kentucky and Nebraska.

The US National Archivist has also declined to confirm the change, citing the long overdue deadline.

Ultimately, Biden, as president, has no direct authority to force passage of the amendment. Still, his high-profile gesture of support has drawn applause from longtime advocates of the constitutional amendment.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, for example, praised Biden’s decision on social media.

“This is an incredible moment for reproductive freedom and a historic day for gender equality — especially with Americans facing the further erosion of reproductive freedom as the incoming administration takes office,” she said. wrotereferring to the policies of President-elect Donald Trump.

During his first term, Trump appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court, paving the way for the 2022 decision that overturned federal abortion rights. Trump takes office for a second term on Monday.

Gillibrand indicated that subsequent laws restricting access to abortion and other reproductive health procedures could run afoul of the amendment if it is passed into law.

“Now, women living in states with restrictions on their reproductive freedoms can — and should — file lawsuits to overturn these unconstitutional laws that discriminate on the basis of sex.”