Three-fourths of the states, or 38 total, are required to amend the Constitution. Last month, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA and one of only three states to do so since 1977 — but there’s a catch. Congress imposed a 1982 deadline on states hoping to ratify the ERA, though there’s doubt about whether this deadline is binding.[...]
Ginsburg’s comments are likely to be the death knell for the ERA. Without Ginsburg’s vote, it’s tough to imagine that five members of the Supreme Court would agree the ERA was properly ratified. And while Congress could, in theory, start the ratification process over again, it’s also hard to imagine two-thirds of the House and Senate agreeing to do so in an age when Congress often struggles to perform basic functions like funding the government. [...]
That suggests that if Congress were to decide that the ERA was properly ratified, the courts would be bound by that decision. But Congress has not done so, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he is “personally not a supporter” of the ERA, so he may simply refuse to call a vote on whether the ERA is part of the Constitution.
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