Many of our readers likely are young enough to have only heard of the most recent effort to amend the US Constitution with adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment in history classes, but believe it or not, ERA is back in the news. To refresh your memory, amendments to the Constitution require a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress as well as ratification by three-fourths of the states. Congress passed the ERA in 1972, with sufficient majorities (354-24 in the House, 84-8 in the Senate) and set a 10-year timetable for the requisite three-fourths of the states (38 states required) to ratify it. However, by the expiration of the 10 year window (1982), only 35 states ratified it, so the amendment was not adopted. The state of Virginia was one that did not ratify it – defeating it 10 years in a row! The deadline came and went without ratification by the 38 states necessary for adoption. Case closed? Not quite. Now, some 37 years after that deadline passed, democrats won control of the Virginia legislature in last week’s election and want to resurrect adoption of the ERA next session. Nevada ratified the ERA in 2017 – 35 years too late and Illinois became the 37^th state to ratify last year, 2018. To clear the path for resurrection of the ratification process, the House Judiciary Committee this week approved legislation to rescind the 1982 deadline and allow Virginia to vote on ratification again, presumably becoming the 38^th state to ratify. So, the US House of Representatives, which cannot or will not agree to correct the tax extenders error that costs small businesses $millions each year in lost tax credits and benefits, is putting its thumb on the scale to boost the ERA ratification effort! There is another fly in the ointment however in that five other states (Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky and South Dakota) formally rescinded their previous ratification, so even if Virginia were to ratify, there are not today 38 states that are on record in favor of adding the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution. Elections do indeed have consequences!!