RICHMOND, Va. -- Hundreds of Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) supporters marched to the Virginia state Capitol after rallying in Monroe Park on International Women’s Day.
During this past General Assembly session, Virginia officially became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
Advocates said the ERA will promise equality for women and offer stronger protections in sex discrimination cases.
“It's International Women’s Day, it's 3-8, March 8th is the 38th state to ratify the ERA,” Lynn Johnston, an ERA supporter, said. "It's been a very good year. We've got a lot of progress made in a very short time."
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However, opponents warn it will advance abortion access.
Last month five Republican attorneys general sought to block an effort by three Democratic-led states to see the ERA adopted into the U.S. Constitution.
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery said the five GOP-led states rescinded their approvals of the ERA amendment before a congressionally mandated ratification deadline more than 40 years ago.
The Democratic-led state attorneys general argue that the 1982 deadline set by Congress was non-binding.
The five states, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Nebraska and South Dakota, filed a motion on Feb. 27 to intervene in a lawsuit filed by Virginia, Nevada and Illinois.
