A question for Charlotte Maloney, whose article in the Oct. 27 Opinion section proposed that the Utah Legislature ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution:
On March 22, 1972, the ERA was submitted to the state legislatures, with a seven-year deadline to acquire ratification by three-fourths (38) of the states. By the 1979 deadline, only 35 states had ratified the amendment (with four states withdrawing their ratification during that time period — another question for the Supreme Court).
When the 95th Congress extended the ratification deadline to June 30, 1982, a federal district court ruled in Idaho v. Freeman (stayed by the Supreme Court) that Congress did not have the power to extend the ratification deadline.
In light of the above, why should the Utah Legislature waste its time ratifying something that will in all probability be declared null and void by the Supreme Court?
If, as Ms. Maloney stated in her article “nearly 94% of Americans support the ERA,” wouldn’t it be better to resubmit it to Congress and start the process all over again? With that high of an approval rating, it should sail through the process. And that should eliminate all court challenges.
Robert Sleight, Layton
