Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File
Protesters march for women’s rights in Juneau in 2020. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced a bipartisan bill Friday to move forward the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, granting equal legal protection to the sexes, stalled in its ratification stage since 1972.

Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File Protesters march for women’s rights in Juneau in 2020. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced a bipartisan bill Friday to move forward the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, granting equal legal protection to the sexes, stalled in its ratification stage since 1972.

Murkowski co-sponsors bipartisan bill to affirm ratification of Equal Rights Amendment

Stalled since 1972, the ERA would guarantee equal legal protection to all sexes.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced Friday she would co-sponsor a bipartisan bill with a Maryland senator to remove the ratification deadline for the long-floated Equal Rights Amendment.

Murkowski, R-Alaska, along with Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., submitted the bipartisan bill as their first bipartisan legislation of the 117th Congress.

“The required 38 states have ratified the ERA,” Murkowski said in the news release. “Congress must not stand in the way of finally enshrining equality for women into our Constitution.”

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The ERA, approved by the U.S. House in 1971 and Senate in 1972, has languished in a no-man’s-land since then as it awaits ratification by 38 state legislatures. Dissenting states were anchored firmly in the Deep South. The bill, if ratified, would guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Virginia became the 38th state legislature to ratify the amendment, doing so in January 2020. Alaska ratified the amendment in 1972.

[Conservationists welcome Biden’s Roadless Rule review order]

“There should be no time limit on equality. Even as we celebrate America’s first female Vice President, our nation is held back as the only modern constitution that fails to enshrine full equality for both men and women. This is unacceptable,” Cardin said in the news release. “Most Americans are surprised to learn that the ERA is not already part of the U.S. Constitution. The states have done their job to make this happen. Now Congress must finally do its job and remove any legal obstacles to certifying the ERA.”

Questions about the legality of the ratification exist, said Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, in a statement in 2020, following a House of Representatives vote to remove the deadline for the ratification of the ERA. Zack Brown, Young’s press secretary, said the representative supports the amendment but wants a do-over of the ratification process.

“Congress does not have the authority to change the ratification deadline retroactively, so that means we must start the process over to ensure that it is ratified in a constitutional way,” Young said in the statement. “Not only has the deadline come and gone, but five separate states have actually rescinded their ratification of the ERA.”

The bill has support in both sides of the aisle, in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“We care about ensuring every individual in our great nation, regardless of gender, has the opportunity to enjoy the same basic rights before the law. For survivors of sexual violence, pregnancy discrimination, or unequal pay, the ratification of the ERA will be a critical step towards equal justice,” said Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., in the news release. “This isn’t an issue of politics — it’s an issue of fairness for all Americans. Congress must press forward and end any unnecessary barriers to the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.”

Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.

More in News

President Zen Kelly speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School board finalizes budget with deep cuts to programming, classrooms

Multiple members of the board said they were frustrated by the state’s failure to fund education.

Former KPBSD Finance Director Liz Hayes speaks during a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District budget development meeting at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School district finance department earns national awards

The two awards are based on comprehensive reviews of the district’s budget and financial reporting.

Children leap forward to grab candy during a Fourth of July parade on South Willow Street in Kenai, Alaska, on July 4, 2025. (Photo courtesy Sarah Every)
Celebrating the 4th in the streets

Kenai comes out for annual Independence Day parade.

Fire crews respond to the Bruce Fire, July 4, 2025, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Alaska Division of Forestry)
Firefighting crews respond to wildfire outside Soldotna

The 8-acre fire and two “spot fires” of less than one acre each are located near Mile 102 and 103 of the Sterling Highway.

Robert Weaver was last seen at the Doroshin Bay public use cabin on June 25, 2025. (Photo provided by the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Updated: Refuge ends search efforts for missing man

Robert Weaver was last seen near Skilak Lake on June 25.

The Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team conducts a training mission in Seward, Alaska in 2024. Photo courtesy of the Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team
Anchor Point fundraiser to benefit Alaska rescue and recovery group

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization established in 2016.

Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic staff (left to right) Angie Holland, RN; Jane Rohr, Sonja Martin Young, CNM; Robin Holmes, MD; and Cherie Bole, CMA provide an array of reproductive and sexual health services. (Photo provided by KBFPC)
Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic releases report on STI trends on the Kenai Peninsula

The report pulls from data gathered from 2024 to early 2025.

Pool manager and swim coach Will Hubler leads a treading water exercise at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Swimmers, parents call on Kenai to support Kenai Central pool

The KPBSD Board of Education last week said communities will need to step up and take over administration of pools within the next year.

Most Read