ISBA Supports ABA Resolution to Recognize ERA as 28th Amendment of U.S. Constitution
The Illinois State Bar Association's Women and the Law (WATL) Committee and the Human and Civil Rights Section Council presented a proposal to the Board of Governors seeking the ISBA's express support of the ABA Resolution recognizing the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Board of Governors met during the ISBA Annual Meeting on June 6, 2024, and the Board voted to support the ABA Resolution.
The ABA Resolution will be introduced at the upcoming ABA House of Delegates Meeting on August 5 and 6, during the 2024 ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago. While not binding, the ISBA’s support for the Resolution informs the ISBA’s Delegates of its position.
For more information, read the article, "Support for Proposed ABA Resolution Recognizing the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution," written by Cindy Buys, a professor of law at the Simmons Law School, Southern Illinois University.
Member Comments (1)
The Equal Rights Amendment was proposed in 1971 with the stipulation that it "shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission by the Congress." Within seven years thereafter, it was ratified by 35 states, although six states later rescinded their ratification. Three additional ratifications were purportedly added in 2017, 2018 and 2020, long after the seven-year limit that Congress had specified..
Equal rights are already guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, which provides that no state shall "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."