I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center,

and welcome to We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.

The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan, non-profit chartered by Congress to increase

awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.

In this episode we explore the Equal Rights Amendment, a proposed amendment to the Constitution.

The ERA technically expired in 1982, which was the ratification deadline set by Congress,

but a renewed push to resurrect and ratify the amendment gained momentum in 2017, leaving

to ratification by Illinois and Nevada.

Now supporters of the amendment are looking to secure ratification in a 38th state

which would round out the necessary two-thirds majority of the states required to pass the amendment

raising fascinating and important constitutional questions about whether or not

related ratification would be valid and if valid what the effects of an ERA

would be. Joining us to discuss this crucially important

series of constitutional questions are two of America's

leading commentators in this important debate. Linda Comber is a managing partner in the Chicago Office of Winston and Strawn.

She is chair of the National ERA Coalition's Legal Task Force and has briefed and argued many appeals in the Supreme Court, Federal courts and

state appellate courts, she clerk for justice Stephen Breyer.

Linda, thank you so much for joining.

Nice to be with you.

And Anez-Stepman is senior policy analyst at the Independent Women's Forum and

senior contributor to the Federalist, which she writes about politics and women's issues, including

the ERA. She previously served as director of the Education and Workforce Development Task Force at the American Legislative Exchange Council,

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