President Biden ‘has no legal authority’ to declare ERA law of land

President Joe Biden spent one of the last days of his presidency promoting a bold conjecture: that the Equal Rights Amendment is part of the Constitution. Pacific Legal Foundation, which aims to secure equal freedom for all regardless of race or sex, reacted to the president’s declaration.

“Individuals should be treated as individuals and not subject to arbitrary government discrimination based on their sex. The Fourteenth Amendment already guarantees individuals, men and women alike, equal protection of the laws. Accordingly, an Equal Rights Amendment that restates that individuals have a right to be free from government discrimination on the basis of sex is an unnecessary constitutional redundancy,” said Alison Somin, a senior legal fellow at Pacific Legal Foundation.

“Unfortunately, the Biden Administration has enforced the nation’s civil rights laws in a manner that suggests a different purpose. Americans should be skeptical about an amendment that can be interpreted to mandate equal treatment in areas where there are bona fide reasons for different treatment based on sex, such as with bathrooms, sports, or in the military. Similarly, we should be skeptical of any interpretation that requires preferential treatment for women when a policy has a disparate impact, such as with corporate board membership or physical tests for public safety jobs.”

“Finally, the president has no legal authority to declare the Equal Rights Amendment the law of the land. President Biden’s decision on the eve of the end of his presidency is of no legal significance,” Somin said.