Congress must remove deadline so the ERA can become a permanent part of the U.S. Constitution
WASHINGTON & RICHMOND – Today, the Virginia State legislature ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, becoming the 38th state to do so and achieving support from the three-fourths of states required for the ERA to become a constitutional amendment.
“We are proud Virginia delivered this long overdue promise to women in the Commonwealth and throughout the United States,” said Deb Wake, president of the League of Women Voters of Virginia. “Advocates have pushed hard for decades so that women are included in the Constitution and guaranteed protection from discrimination under our laws.”
When the ERA passed Congress in 1972, lawmakers attached a 1977 ratification deadline to it, which they later extended to 1982. Earlier this month, the League of Women Voters of the United States sent a letter to the United States Congress urging them to remove the ratification deadline on the ERA.
