President Biden: You have 12 Days to Protect Women and Girls Publish the ERA Now

WASHINGTON, DC-President Biden has a chance to secure his legacy as the president who has been the strongest supporter of women. He can be the president who finally makes the ERA a reality.

National NOW President Christian F. Nunes sent the following letter to President Joseph R. Biden on December 20, 2024, urging him to publish the ERA.

December 20, 2024
President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
1600 Pennsylvania, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The National Organization for Women, the nation's oldest and largest feminist grassroots activist organization, has worked for adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment since our founding in 1966. We believe that the Equal Rights Amendment must be universally recognized and accepted as ratified to provide women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community a strong constitutionally-based legal protection - particularly as we believe there will be extraordinary threats to equality.

Some are concerned that any further action taken to recognize the validity of the Equal Rights Amendment may be met with litigation; we would like to note the following conclusions reached by the American Bar Association:

• The American Bar Association (ABA) at the House of Delegates annual meeting, August 5-6, 2024, formally resolved that any time limit for ratification of an Amendment to the United States Constitution is not consistent with article V of the Constitution;
• And, That the American Bar Association support the principle that Article V does not permit a state to rescind its ratification of an amendment to the Constitution; and
• The American Bar Association urges federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal governments to support implementation of the Equal Rights Amendment ("ERA") to the Constitution, in accordance with Article V.

As you may know, under the U.S. Constitution's Article V, governing the amendment process, the Executive Branch has no designated role. However, the chief executive has a duty under the Constitution's Article II, Section 3, "that the President shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." With this authority, the president can inform the Archivist of the U.S., Dr. Colleen Shogun, that final steps must be taken to "certify and publish" the ERA. The 28th Amendment became effective on January 27, 2022, two years after passage by the 38th State, Virginia.

It remains for the Archivist to perform a ministerial function in certifying and publishing the ERA as she should have since taking office on May 17, 2023. Provisions of 1 U.S.C. 106b compel the Archivist to take those actions. We wonder whether Dr. Shogun may be in dereliction of duty by not having completed this action. The Archivist has no discretion whether or not to certify and publish when 38 states have ratified a constitutional amendment, and their documents have been found to be in good order.

Failing certification and publication, there is another route for the you, as president, to assure that the public is aware that the 28th amendment is now part of the Constitution. We propose that prior to leaving office that you announce your view that the Equal Rights Amendment is the 28th Amendment and should be implemented by federal, state and local governments. This statement can be incorporated in an Executive Order and, thus, appear in the Federal Register.

Whatever route that can be pursued to express official recognition of the validity of the Equal Rights Amendment is critically important. We thank you, in advance, for your efforts to assure that the United States will no longer be the remaining advanced democracy which does not have a guarantee of equality in the national constitution.