South Dakota sues to keep Equal Rights Amendment off U.S. Constitution [View all]

By Lisa Kaczke


South Dakota is suing the archivist of the United States to prevent the addition of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg announced on Wednesday that the state is joining Alabama and Louisiana in a federal lawsuit against Archivist David Ferriero, who oversees the ratification process, "to stop activists from illegally amending the U.S. Constitution."

The Equal Rights Amendment is a constitutional amendment passed by Congress in 1972 to guarantee the equal rights of men and women.

Ravnsborg said the duty of the state attorney general is to defend the South Dakota Legislature, and he would be doing a disservice to South Dakotans to ignore that obligation. The South Dakota Legislature ratified the ERA in 1973 but then rescinded its ratification in 1979.

Read more: https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2019/12/19/south-dakota-sues-keep-equal-rights-amendment-off-u-s-constitution/2697209001/