Last week marked two years since Virginia ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, making it the 38th state to do so.
The text for the ERA makes clear that the amendment takes effect two years after 38 states ratify it, but it won’t be officially recognized without congressional action, which President Joe Biden called for in a statement on Thursday.
Tucson state Sen. and ERA advocate Victoria Steele says she feels that the ERA is essentially already official.
“As far as we’re concerned, we have the 28th Amendment. Now all we need to do is get the archivist to be directed to put it into the Constitution, to be certified,” said Steele.
Steele says the archivist was set to certify the amendment before the Trump administration attempted to block its passage.
The ERA was first introduced into Congress in 1923.
