President Biden Says Equal Rights Amendment Is Ratified

President Joe Biden said that the Equal Rights Amendment has been ratified and should be published as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.

“In keeping with my oath and duty to 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 all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex,” Biden said in a statement.

The Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress in 1972 and requires three-quarters of the states to ratify it. In 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the amendment, giving it the required number of states needed to be added to the Constitution.

Biden has directed the archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen Shogan, to certify and publish the amendment. However, it is unclear if Shogan will publish the amendment. In December, Shogan and Deputy Archivist William Bosanko issued a statement saying that the amendment “cannot be certified as part of the Constitution due to established legal, judicial, and procedural decisions.”

Since the amendment passed in 1972, it has sat stagnant for decades while waiting for three-fourths of the states to ratify it. In 2020 and 2022, the Justice Department ruled that ratification deadlines have passed and that those deadlines are enforceable. In addition, five states have since rescinded their ratification of the amendment, further complicating matters.

However, Biden believes the amendment should be added to the Constitution, citing the American Bar Association’s opinion on the matter.

“The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized that the Equal Rights Amendment has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment,” Biden said. “I agree with the ABA and with leading legal constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution.”

It is unclear if Shogan will publish the amendment before Biden leaves office or what the next steps will be toward adding the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution.