Nevada Democrats want to ratify Equal Rights Amendment decades after Congressional deadline

CARSON CITY — Nevada Democrats are trying again to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, 35 years after a deadline set by Congress expired.

Senate Joint Resolution 2, introduced Monday by state Sen. Patricia Spearman, D-North Las Vegas, was referred to the Committee on Operations and Elections. A similar resolution in 2015 failed to make it out of committee.

Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972 and sent it to the states, setting a seven-year time limit, which was later extended until 1982.

It was ratified by 35 states – three short of those needed to amend the United States Constitution. But supporters of the effort point to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said Congress may determine whether an amendment is valid, even after the deadline.

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