Bill > HCR8

This Concurrent Resolution formally declares Missouri's ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the United States Constitution, a proposed amendment that states "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." The resolution acknowledges that the ERA was first introduced in Congress in the early 1970s and sent to the states for ratification, with a deadline of June 30, 1982, set by Congress, though the resolution questions the constitutional authority of such a deadline. It emphasizes that Article V of the U.S. Constitution allows state legislatures to ratify amendments and asserts that the ERA remains meaningful and necessary today, leading Missouri's General Assembly to ratify it and instruct the Chief Clerk to send official copies to various federal officials and the Congressional Record.