The Chamber passed a resolution on Wednesday to remove the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment – just weeks after a federal judge ruled that time was up.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier, D-Calif., Said that the approval of her joint resolution by a vote of 222-204 made it clear that “there can be no expiration date in equality. “
An associated joint resolution in the Senate, which was tabled by Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Ben Cardin, D-Md., Faces a steeper escalation; at least 10 Republicans will have to join the 50 Democrats in order to pass. Only four Republicans voted in favor of the measure in the House, including Tom Reed of New York, Speier’s co-sponsor.
The amendment says: “Equal rights under the law should not be denied or abbreviated by the United States or any state because of sex.”
Virginia became the 38th state to pass the amendment in January 2020 – the number needed to officially make it the 28th amendment. Opponents of the measure, which was introduced in 1972, said the window to ratify the amendment closed nearly 40 years ago, citing a seven-year limit on ratification in its preamble. The deadline was subsequently extended by three years – meaning that it expired in 1982.
Although the Constitution does not place a time limit on states to ratify an amendment – the 27th Amendment took more than 200 years to become a reality – US District Judge Rudolph Contreras of Washington, DC, decided this month that the deadline set in the introduction of the ERA “is as effective as in the text of a proposed amendment.”
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said he is considering his legal options, including an appeal from the Contreras order.
President Joe Biden applauded the House’s effort. “[I]It is past time for us to enshrine the principle of gender equality in our Constitution, ”said Biden, adding that“ no one’s rights should be denied because of their sex ”.
The ERA vote was one of two scheduled for Wednesday in the House in honor of Women’s History Month.
The House also voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which expired in 2019. The vote came a day after a mass shooting in Atlanta that officials said targeted women working in spas that appeared to be Asian.
The original measure – which aimed to help end domestic abuse, violence and sexual harassment against women and girls and provide resources for victims and survivors – was defended by Biden when he was in the Senate.
The House voted to reauthorize the act in 2019, but it stopped in the Republican-controlled Senate amid complaints from the National Rifle Association that it was an attempt to close the so-called boyfriend breach by prohibiting the purchase of weapons by those convicted of harassment or abuse. people with whom they related. The previous prohibitions covered only couples.
The current version of the bill still includes an attempt to close the breach. The bill passed a 244-172 vote, with 29 Republicans voting in favor.
Biden welcomed the vote later.
I don’t know how you and Alana found the time to examine things “This should not be a Democratic or Republican issue – it is about standing up to the abuse of power and preventing violence,” said Biden in a statement. “Now, I urge the Senate to follow the previous precedent and assemble a strong bipartisan coalition to secure VAWA approval so that I can sign this legislation as soon as possible.”
Congressman Bob Good, R-Va., Complained on the floor of the House before the vote that “Democrats are using domestic violence, which is a serious problem, only as a front for their latest gun control bill.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Said the need for legislation is urgent.
“One in three women today faces domestic violence,” said Pelosi. “And domestic violence is on the rise during the pandemic, as many women are forced to quarantine in homes that are not safe.”
