Biden declares Equal Rights Amendment law of the land as debates loom

President Joe Biden recently stated that the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is "the law of the land." The ERA aims to prohibit gender-based discrimination and requires ratification from three-quarters of the states to be added to the U.S. Constitution. The ERA was first sent to states for ratification in 1972, with a deadline extended to 1982. Virginia ratified it in 2020, reaching the necessary 38 states, but Congress has not lifted the deadline, leaving its certification uncertain. Biden's declaration is largely symbolic and does not change the current situation. The National Archives has stated that the ERA cannot be certified without further congressional or judicial action regarding the deadline.