WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden announced Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment should be considered a ratified addition to the U.S. Constitution, making a symbolic statement that’s unlikely to alter a decades-long push for gender equality.
“The Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land,” Biden said even though presidents have no role in the constitutional process. He did not direct the leader of the National Archives to certify the amendment, as some activists have called for, sidestepping a legal battle.
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It was the latest in a collection of pronouncements that Biden has made in the waning days of his presidency as he tries to tie up loose ends and embroider his legacy despite leaving after only one term. He’s also called for a ban on stock trading for members of Congress and proposed term limits for Supreme Court justices — ideas that lingered for years before Biden endorsed them.
With his popularity low and political influence running dry before he’s replaced by Donald Trump on Monday, Biden’s statements have stirred aggravation among some allies who believe he should have acted more swiftly and spoken out earlier.
The Equal Rights Amendment, which would ban discrimination based on gender, was sent to the states for ratification in 1972. Virginia became the 38th state to ratify it in 2020, although years past the deadline set by Congress, leading to a legal standoff over whether it could be considered valid.
Democrats and activists have long pressed to consider the amendment as ratified, but Biden did not say he agreed until Friday.
“I wish it was done sooner because it’s so important,” said Christian F. Nunes, leader of the National Organization for Women. “The fact that it’s getting done now is more important than the fact that it took long, but we can’t continue to delay women’s protections and equal rights in this country.”
Noreen Farrell, executive director of Equal Rights Advocates, said she wished Biden’s statement had come earlier in hopes of influencing the leader of the National Archives, who has declined to certify the amendment because of the expired deadline for ratification.
“But we remain hopeful” that it would help build momentum “even at this late date,” Farrell said.
Biden defended his decision not to weigh in until the end of his term by telling reporters that he “needed all the facts.”
Earlier in the day, Biden issued a statement saying “it is long past time to recognize the will of the American people.”
“In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.”
It’s unlikely that Biden’s support will have any impact. On Friday, the National Archives reiterated its position by saying “the underlying legal and procedural issues have not changed.”
Some activists gathered outside the National Archives to celebrate Biden’s statement and call on the archivist to take action.
“Do your job,” said Zakiya Thomas, head of the ERA Coalition. “The president has done his.”
Claudia Nachega, a leader in the Young Feminist Party, said certifying the Equal Rights Amendment would signal “the beginning of a new American era that gives us a fighting chance of surviving a second Trump presidency.”
___ Savage reported from Chicago.
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This story corrects the year when Virginia ratified the Equal Rights Amendment to 2020, not 2000.