In honor of March 8 - International Women's Day:

Last Friday evening, the Department of Justice filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in the case by the states of Illinois and Nevada seeking to force U.S. Archivist David S. Ferriero to publish the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as part of the Constitution. The brief asks the D.C. Circuit to affirm the dismissal of the case “without resolving the ERA’s legal status.”

Importantly, the brief does not embrace the district court’s conclusion that the time limit stands in the way of the ERA. Instead, it recognizes that the questions of the ERA’s validity are important, profound, and novel. The brief argues that the dismissal should be affirmed on the grounds that the plaintiffs lack standing and have fallen short of the requirement to show a “clear and undisputable” entitlement to government action. 

The brief also repeats President Biden’s statement “expressing his ‘support for the ERA loudly and clearly’” and declaring that “nothing prevents Congress from taking legislative action to ‘recogniz[e] ratification of the ERA.’” 

In response, ERA Coalition / Fund for Women’s Equality President and CEO Carol Jenkins released the following statement:

“We continue to believe that the ERA has met all the constitutional requirements for an amendment, making it both valid and enforceable today. We remain optimistic the Court will agree and require the Archivist to publish it. While we’re disappointed with the Department of Justice’s position in this case, we agree on one critical point: Congress has the power to act. Alongside President Biden, we urge Congress to remove the arbitrary time limit and eliminate any doubt that the ERA is now the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.”

ACTIONS: 
Sign the petition to the Attorney General
Tell the Senate to remove the time limit on the ERA
Tell Congress to recognize the ERA