Overview
Women were never mentioned in the federal Constitution. Women are still not mentioned in the Constitution.
In March 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was passed in Congress. Yet, several decades later, the ERA is not an amendment to our Constitution.
1. What is the procedure for amending our Constitution? How does this procedure differ from how your state's constitution can be amended?
2. What is the ERA's current status?
3. What did State of Idaho v. Freeman, 529 F. Supp. 1107 (D. Idaho 1982) and Virginia v. Ferriero, 525 F. Supp. 3d 36 (D.D.C. 2021) determine regarding Article V of the Constitution and ratification?
4. Explore and explain at least one amendment to your state's constitution (or that of another state if you cannot find an amendment in your home state).
5. Reformulate what you have learned so far so that you can set forth:
a. your own proposed hypothetical constitutional amendment. Explain why should this be changed or added? What other kinds of laws and policies need to be addressed to ensure that your proposed amendment can be assimilated properly into the body of American law? What are you ultimately trying to accomplish, and why?
b. the specific language that you want to see in the altered amendment. What problems can your proposed language solve? What problems could it worsen -- or create?
6. Could technology [including, but not limited to the use of electronic legal (research or other kinds of) tools and/or social media] help facilitate, or interfere with, the legal change that you are seeking? How? If you view technology as a problem, then what recommendations do you have for overcoming the challenges that you see, relative to your proposed constitutional amendment?
Do not offer your personal opinion, but explain how your conclusion is supported by the law or other academic quality resources.