Illinois ratifies the Equal Rights Amendment. One state to go.

[RandySF]

Link to tweet

?s=21

[Aristus]

1. I thought the suspense date for ratification ran out decades ago.

n/t

[PoliticAverse]

6. Ultimately, the Supreme Court will be deciding that issue. n/t

[sakabatou]

2. Who's holding out? MS?

[RandomAccess]

3. Lots of states

Ratification takes only 2/3 of states, IIRC

[cojoel]

4. It takes 3/4 to ratify a constitution amendment

States remaining: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia.

Were another state to ratify it, there would be legal battles over the time limit for ratification. There is also the matter of five states, Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky, and South Dakota have voted to rescind or otherwise withdraw their ratification. There are no provisions in the US Constitution to revoke or rescind a ratification.

[PoliticAverse]

7. Yes, the issue of the deadline(s) and the issue of states recinding approval will be something...

Last edited Thu Apr 12, 2018, 09:37 PM - Edit history (1)

for the Supreme Court to make a final ruling on.

[RandomAccess]

8. Thank you. Very good info

[oberliner]

5. It's 35 years after the deadline

Which was 1982.

[sl8]

9. Illinois Senate, now it goes to the House.

From http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-illinois-equal-rights-amendment-20180411-story.html

Illinois Senate approves federal Equal Rights Amendment, more than 35 years after the deadline

By Monique Garcia
Chicago Tribune
April 12, 2018 6:10 AM | Springfield

The Illinois Senate on Wednesday voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, renewing a push from decades ago amid the #MeToo movement to guarantee that rights can’t be denied because of a person’s sex.

The vote came about 36 years after the amendment appeared to die after just 35 states ratified it, three short of what was needed by the 1982 deadline. That means Illinois’ approval could be largely symbolic. Still, advocates have pushed for a “three-state solution,” contending Congress can extend the deadline and the amendment should go into effect if three additional states vote in favor.

...

The amendment passed on a vote of 43-12, with no debate on the Senate floor. It now heads to the House, where sponsoring Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, says he is working to build support but warned it’s far from a “slam-dunk.” The House and Senate each have voted in favor in the past, but it has yet to clear both in the same year.

Opponents have questioned the relevance of approving the amendment, given that so much time has passed since the deadline. They note the Illinois Constitution already guarantees equal protections regardless of sex.

...

More at link.