Biden says the Equal Rights Amendment should be considered ratified

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment should be considered a ratified addition to the U.S. Constitution, making a symbolic statement that’s unlikely to alter a decades-long push for gender equality. “The Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land,” Biden said even though presidents have no role in the constitutional process. “The fact that it’s getting done now is more important than the fact that it took long, but we can’t continue to delay women’s protections and equal rights in this country.” Noreen Farrell, executive director of Equal Rights Advocates, said she wished Biden’s statement had come earlier in hopes of influencing the leader of the National Archives, who has declined to certify the amendment because of the expired deadline for ratification. Biden defended his decision not to weigh in until the end of his term by telling reporters that he “needed all the facts.” Earlier in the day, Biden issued a statement saying “it is long past time to recognize the will of the American people.” “In keeping with my oath and duty to Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.” It’s unlikely that Biden’s support will have any impact. “The president has done his.” Claudia Nachega, a leader in the Young Feminist Party, said certifying the Equal Rights Amendment would signal “the beginning of a new American era that gives us a fighting chance of surviving a second Trump presidency.” ___ Savage reported from Chicago.