House passes Equal Rights Amendment extension

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House voted to remove the deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.

The House approved the resolution 232-183, mostly along party lines.

Congress sent the amendment, which guarantees men and women equal rights under the Constitution to the states in 1972.

The amendment needed three-quarters of the states to ratify it before the 1982 deadline but not all states did.

Now, the resolution is headed to the Senate, giving the Equal Rights Amendment another chance to become law.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Thursday’s vote a “giant step” toward equality for women and families.