1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i The Equal Rights Amendment: Recent Developments April 25, 2022 In February 2022, the Commonwealth of Virginia filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circu
2、it) seeking to withdraw the state from a lawsuit challenging the Archivist of the United States refusal to publish and certify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as part of the U.S. Constitution. First presented to the states in 1972, the ERA would amend the Constitution and provide that “equality of
3、rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.” This Legal Sidebar provides a brief background on the ERA and the ratification process for constitutional amendments. The Sidebar also reviews Virginia v. Ferriero, the case challenging the Arc
4、hivists refusal. In March 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the case, holding that Virginia, Nevada, and Illinois lacked standing to challenge the Archivists decision. While all three states filed an appeal in May 2021, the case will now proceed without Virginias i
