The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would, if added, explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It was written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman and introduced in Congress in December 1923 as a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution.[1][2][3] The purpose of the ERA is to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and women in matters of divorce, property, employment, and other matters.[4] Opponents originally argued it would remove protections that women needed. In the 21st century, opponents argue it is no longer needed and some fear it would be extended to abortion and transgender rights.[5]
When the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted in 1868, the Equal Protection Clause, which guarantees equal protection of the laws, did not apply to women. It was not until 1971 that the United States Supreme Court extended equal protection to sex based discrimination.[6] However, women have never been entitled to full equal protection as the Court subsequently ruled that statutory or administrative sex classifications were subject to an intermediate standard of judicial review, a less stringent standard than that applied to other forms of discrimination.[7]
In 2011, Supreme Court Justice Scalia stated:
Certainly, the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t. Nobody ever thought that that is what it meant. Nobody ever voted for that. If the current society wants to outlaw discrimination by sex, hey, we have things called legislatures and they enact things called laws.[8]
If the ERA were to be enshrined in the Constitution, then there would be an express prohibition on sex based discrimination.
^"English: A newspaper article from 1923 talking about the ERA" (PDF). The Baltimore Sun. December 11, 1923.
^"English: Newspaper article from 1921 talking about the ERA" (PDF). The Washington Post. October 3, 1921 – via Wikimedia Commons.
^"English: Newspaper article from 1922 talking about the ERA" (PDF). The New York Times. January 16, 1922 – via Wikimedia Commons.
^Olson, James S.; Mendoza, Abraham O. (April 28, 2015). American Economic History: A Dictionary and Chronology. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-61069-698-2.
^"The Equal Rights Amendment: How Congress Can Recognize Ratification and Enshrine Equality in Our Constitution | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov. February 28, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
^"Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71 (1971)". Justia Law. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
^"Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190 (1976)". Justia Law. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
^Fisher, Max (January 4, 2011). "Scalia Says Constitution Doesn't Protect Women From Gender Discrimination". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
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