The National Archives poured cold water on former President Biden's declaration that the Equal Rights Amendment is now part of the Constitution, saying courts and Mr. Biden’s own Justice Department have rejected that notion.  Mr. Biden issued a statement saying he believed that 38 states have ratified the ERA, which would be enough to make it the 28th Amendment.  

     But the National Archives and Records Administration, the official keeper of the Constitution as a document, said it stands by its decision — announced last month — that the ratifications didn’t happen before the deadline.  Biden is a fool.

     “Court decisions at both the district and circuit levels have affirmed that the ratification deadlines established by Congress for the ERA are valid. Therefore, the Archivist of the United States cannot legally publish the Equal Rights Amendment,” the agency’s leaders said at the time. The Archives said Friday that has been “a long-standing position” and Biden’s announcement doesn’t change “the underlying legal and procedural issues.”  The key point is whether the ERA, which was passed by Congress in 1972 and was sent to the states for ratification, has amassed the 38 states needed.

     Just 35 had ratified the amendment by 1979, which was the deadline set by Congress. Capitol Hill then approved a three-year extension of the deadline, but that came and went with no new ratifications.  In 2017, Nevada belatedly voted for approval, followed by Illinois in 2018 and Virginia in 2020. ERA backers said that was enough to cross the finish line.