Joe Biden, among a flurry of strange and odd behaviors he’s exhibiting during the closing days of his term in the White House, now has declared, unilaterally and by fiat, that the long-dead Equal Rights Amendment is part of the U.S. Constitution.
His comments contradicted years of legal wrangling and fighting, and conclusions from not only the Department of Justice but the national archivist, whose responsibilities would include listing it.
A report from Reuters said the aging – and mentally declining – Democrat “called the Equal Rights Amendment ‘the law of the land” on Friday.”
That would be his political statement in support of changing the U.S. Constitution with an amendment that failed.
Reuters said, “It was unclear what practical impact Biden’s comments might have. The White House issued his statement just three days before he leaves office, handing off to President-elect Donald Trump on Monday.”
The ERA would have said, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
President Joe Biden announced that the Equal Rights Amendment should be considered a ratified addition to the U.S. Constitution, inserting himself into a long-running legal battle over gender equality. https://t.co/szJGL99yZH
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 17, 2025
The history of the ideology is long and convoluted but in every scheme it has failed. And under the Constitution, a president lacks the power to reverse court precedent, congressional action and legal determinations, all of which would be necessary.
The report noted that the U.S. Senate, on a 51-47 vote that failed to reach the required 60 votes, blocked the Equal Rights Amendment from being ratified into law in 2023,
WND reported recently when far-left Sen Kirsten Gillibrand demanded that the corpse of the amendment be dug out of its grave and added to the Constitution.
Earlier today, the national archivist preemptively stated that she would not legally certify the Equal Rights Amendment as part of the Constitution.
By taking this unprecedented step, she is wrongfully inserting herself into a clear constitutional process, though her role is…
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) December 18, 2024
For the ratification of amendments to the Constitution, at least 38 states must adopt the proposal.
During the time allowed for the ERA to be ratified, 35 states did adopt it. But that was not enough, even after Congress extended the allowed time.
It failed to meet its ratification requirements by the first deadline in 1972, and again in 1982.
Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan and Deputy Archivist William J. Bosanko explained in their statement, “As Archivist and Deputy Archivist of the United States, it is our responsibility to uphold the integrity of the constitutional amendment process and ensure that changes to the Constitution are carried out in accordance with the law. At this time, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) cannot be certified as part of the Constitution due to established legal, judicial, and procedural decisions.
“In 2020 and again in 2022, the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable. The OLC concluded that extending or removing the deadline requires new action by Congress or the courts. Court decisions at both the District and Circuit levels have affirmed that the ratification deadlines established by Congress for the ERA are valid. Therefore, the Archivist of the United States cannot legally publish the Equal Rights Amendment. As the leaders of the National Archives, we will abide by these legal precedents and support the constitutional framework in which we operate.”
In 2020, Democrat lawmakers in Virginia claimed they ratified the ERA, making their state the 38th to ratify.
Not quite, explained a legal opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel.
“Congress has constitutional authority to impose a deadline for ratifying a proposed constitutional amendment. It exercised this authority when proposing the Equal Rights Amendment and, because three-fourths of the state legislatures did not ratify before the deadline that Congress imposed, the Equal Rights Amendment has failed of adoption and is no longer pending before the states,” it said.
“Accordingly, even if one or more state legislatures were to ratify the proposed amendment it would not become part of the Constitution and the archivist could not certify its adoption.”
The opinion said Congress “may not revive a proposed amendment after a deadline for its ratification has expired.”
“Should congress wish to propose the amendment anew, it may do so through the same procedures required to propose an amendment in the first instance, consistent with Article V of the Constitution.”
The concept first was proposed in the U.S. House in 1923, but it didn’t gain congressional action until the 1970s. But that legislation included a ratification deadline, which was extended once.
Recently, three states sued to keep the ERA corpse in its grave.
AP reported South Dakota, Louisiana and Alabama filed a federal case to block the ERA should there be support.
South Dakota’s attorney general at the time, Jason Raynsborg, explained: “The South Dakota Legislature ratified the ERA in 1973, but in 1979 passed Senate Joint Resolution 2 which required the ERA be ratified in the original time limit set by Congress or be rescinded. Because thirty-eight states failed to ratify the amendment by [the deadline], the South Dakota Legislature rescinded its ratification of the ERA.”
Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky and South Dakota, after first adopting it, later reversed their decisions and withdrew their adoptions.
A report at NotTheBee reacted to Biden’s wild claim.
“A reasonable person might conclude that President Biden is trying to do as much damage as humanly possible to the country as he leaves office, and this move takes the cake,” it said.
It then quoted Biden’s politicking: “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.”
But the report also noted, “A senior administration official said Biden was not going to direct the archivist to add it to the Constitution. The official said the archivist’s role was ‘purely ministerial,’ and that she is ‘required to publish an amendment once it has been effectively ratified.’”
The report continued, “It’s not clear if this is simply bluster from the Biden crew on the way out, if the archivist will add the ERA as the 28th Amendment, or if any of this would hold up at all in front of the Supreme Court. All I know is Biden seems to be giving America a giant mess of chaos on his way out the door.”
Gillibrand’s demands were not met with endorsement on social media:
“While the ERA has been ratified by 38 states, it had only been ratified by 35 before expiration of the ratification deadline in 1982. Lawmakers in 5 states have since voted to rescind their earlier approvals and the DOJ has upheld that the ratification period had ended. ”
(1) It did not pass by the deadline.
(2) Five states rescinded their support.
(3) You already know this.
(4) You took an oath to defend the Constitution.
(5) You are actively attacking it.
(6) You are a disgrace to the senate.
— Utah Conservative (@coninutah) December 18, 2024
Promoters for the unlikely addition of the amendment are faced with the inescapable legal dispute that if they count “approvals” after the deadline had passed, would they not also have to count votes that withdrew states’ approvals, once again leaving the amendment lacking required support.
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