Virginia Abandons ERA

By Jonathan R. Mook

Two years ago, the Democratically controlled Virginia General Assembly ratified the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). In doing so, Virginia became not only the 38th state to endorse the amendment, but also the final one to satisfy the required 2/3 majority needed to amend the U.S. Constitution. Virginia’s ratification, however, did not necessarily mean that the ratification was effective. That’s because Congress established a 1982 deadline for the ERA’s ratification to occur.

Virginia Joins ERA Lawsuit
To clarify the matter, Virginia joined two other states (Nevada and Illinois) in filing suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, contending that the deadline set by Congress wasn’t binding and seeking to compel the U.S. Archivist to certify the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. The district court dismissed the lawsuit last year, but the states appealed the dismissal to the District of Columbia Circuit, where it presently is pending.

Last fall, however, a sea change occurred in Virginia’s political landscape when Republican Glenn Youngkin won the Governor’s race along with Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears and Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares. Significantly, in 2020, Attorney General Miyares had a been a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, and he had voted against ratification of the ERA.

Virginia Bales Out
Given Attorney General Miyares’ view, it should have come as no surprise that he now has asked the D.C. Circuit to dismiss Virginia as a party to the pending ERA lawsuit. Miyares’ position is that the district court correctly dismissed the lawsuit, and any further participation in the lawsuit would undermine the U.S. Constitution and its amendment process. Although the appeal is being pursued before the D.C. Circuit by the two remaining states, Virginia’s withdrawal from the case certainly is not a good omen for a positive outcome for the ERA. Instead, the likely outcome appears to be “RIP.”