Biden declares Equal Rights Amendment should be viewed as ratified despite legal hurdles

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first proposed by suffragist Alice Paul in 1923 to ensure gender equality in the U.S. Constitution. Despite passing Congress in 1972, it failed to meet the ratification deadline in 1982. On January 17, 2025, President Biden stated that the ERA should be viewed as ratified. However, the National Archives has not certified it due to the expired ratification deadline. This announcement does not change the current legal status of the amendment. Recent efforts to revive the ERA have faced challenges, including a 2023 court ruling and a blocked Senate measure to remove the ratification deadline. The archivist's statement in December 2024 confirmed that further action is needed for certification.