Congress can avoid further diminishing its status by letting the ERA languish

When the seven years expired, with the ERA still three states shy of ratification, those who were supposedly passionate about equal treatment of women sought and received special treatment: Although the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority for amendments, a simple congressional majority was used to extend the original deadline for 39 months. Compounding the lawlessness, Congress said the extra time for consideration of the ERA was available only for states that had not ratified it. This was to block state legislatures from joining the four that, having had second — or perhaps first — thoughts, had rescinded their ratifications. Nevertheless, the ERA died, redundantly, after 123 months. In the 65 months since Indiana’s became the 35th ratification, no other state had ratified and five of the 35 rescinded their ratifications.