WASHINGTON — Just days before the 2020 Women's March on Washington, history was made in Virginia. On Wednesday, both chambers of the state's General Assembly voted to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), a monumental victory for Virginia's newly Democratic legislature.
Virginia's House of Delegates first passed the amendment with a 59-41 vote before a companion resolution was passed by Virginia Senate, 28-12.
While the amendment originally passed Congress with overwhelming support in 1972, it needed to be ratified by three-quarters of the states because it was a constitutional amendment. That means 38 of the 50 in the Union had to ratify it individually -- and thanks to Wednesday's vote, Virginia became lucky number 38.
The issue? A certain ruling set by Congress, making the deadline for ratification 1982. The Department of Justice said the expired deadline passed decades ago, making Virginia's Wednesday ratification almost forty years too late.
"We conclude that Congress had the constitutional authority to impose a deadline on the ratification of the ERA and, because that deadline has expired, the ERA Resolution is no longer pending before the States," read a legal opinion from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel made public last week.
Supporters of the gender equality amendment say that the DOJ's deadline is up for interpretation and that ratifying the amendment sets an important precedent for women's equality.
One such supporter is Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-Prince William), the chief House sponsor for the resolution.
"Which side of history do you want to be on? " she asked lawmakers before the vote on Wednesday. "The world is watching: your mothers, your sisters, your daughters."
Some efforts to challenge the deadline are already in full swing. In November, the House Judiciary Committee proposed a joint resolution that would remove the previous 1982 deadline. With a Republican-backed Senate, the future of the resolution is unclear, making a courtroom battle highly likely.