Biden Affirms Equal Rights Amendment As Part of The Constitution – But Refuses To Order Archivist To Enshrine It In Law

On Friday, President Joe Biden declared that the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which bans discrimination based on sex, is part of the Constitution and will be added as the 28th Amendment.

“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. I agree with the ABA and with leading legal constitutional scholars that the ERA has become part of our Constitution,” said Biden.

Congress approved the ERA in 1972 with a seven-year deadline for states to sign onto the law as a Constitutional Amendment.

In 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Amendment.

During his first term, President-elect Donald Trump said no action should be taken to add the ERA to the Constitution.

Democratic lawmakers have urged Biden to take action on the Amendment before leaving office, but Biden refused to go further and order the National Archivist to publish it, which would give it the force of law. This effectively means the issue is dead for now since Trump is unlikely to change his mind on the issue.