John Oliver dives into the Equal Rights Amendment on Last Week Tonight

In the 1970s, the U.S. was ready to make a big step forward in women’s rights. Then, it all went wrong. John Oliver explains on Last Week Tonight

This week marked the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, a Constitutional stalwart (we hope) that granted women the right to vote. Between that and the time McDonald’s flipped the golden arches upside down in honor of International Women’s Day, we’ve got it made. Right, ladies? Everything’s great for women, forever and always.

But we haven’t achieved an ever bigger and potentially more important milestone: the Equal Rights Amendment.

As described on the latest episode of Last Week Tonight, the proposed Constitutional amendment is actually pretty straightforward. The ERA basically says that everyone should get rights, regardless of their biological sex. It’s so simple that many people think it’s already in the Constitution, but it definitely isn’t.

What went wrong? As host John Oliver described it, things were look pretty great at the beginning of this story. In the 1970s, the ERA looked all set to pass. A majority of Congresspeople were ready to approve it. All we needed back then were 38 states to ratify it.

The ERA was passed with a deadline of 1979 to get those 38 states on board. Within a year, 30 states had ratified it. Hawaii even ratified the ERA a mere 32 minutes after Congress approved the measure.

Right now, we’re at 37 states in favor of the amendment. A mere six weeks ago, Congress was actually hearing arguments regarding the ERA. Yet, look around. We see no ERA in sight, even with more than three decades to do something of value. What gives?

Much of the blame can be rightfully centered on one figure: Phyllis Schlafly.

Schlafly was a lawyer and conservative activist who liked to pretend that she was just a housewife aching for a real-life Republic of Gilead. She started a group called “Stop ERA” meant to, well, stop the progress of the Equal Rights Amendment. In the 1970s, Schlafly went on a fear mongering campaign that claimed the ERA would outlaw sex-segregated bathrooms, force women into military service, and split up families.

Schlafly, for all of her public appearances and law degree, often liked to say that her husband “allowed” her to appear in public. Campaigns associated with her work liked to play on the traditional gender roles of American culture, to the point where activists would deliver baked goods to legislators with slogans like “I am for Mom and apple pie”.

Just to be clear, the ERA basically says you can’t curtail someone’s rights because of things like their biological sex. It’s not a King Solomon-style proposal where we’re cutting children in half because it’s “equal”.

Schlafly was basically a troll before the internet, said Oliver. She was an expert in whipping crowds into an anxious frenzy, annoying “women’s libbers”, and completely misinterpreting the ERA. Thanks to Schlafly and a few others, the ERA became so politically toxic that it was doomed. By the time the federal deadline rolled around, the amendment simply didn’t have enough states lending their support.

How does all of that translate to today’s situation? There are some policies in place that can be interpreted in favor of gender equality, but those can be rolled back when the White House and other branches of government take a mind to do so. Constitutional amendments, however, are far more set in stone.

Now, some argue that the 14th Amendment has already got women covered. Equal protection under the law, right? Except that some big voices have argued against this interpretation, including former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Since Trump has explicitly stated that he wants more Justices like the deceased Scalia, that’s frankly alarming.

The ERA isn’t totally dead, however. Congress can potentially change that earlier ratification deadline and bring the amendment back to life. Meanwhile, Nevada and Illinois have both ratified the ERA, helping to bring us up to a tantalizing 37 states that have ratified the ERA.

Oliver acknowledges that resurrecting the ERA won’t fix everything. It would only affect federal employment, leaving private companies to their own devices, more or less. Neither would a Constitutional amendment immediately solve all of the gender-related woes of society. But, it would be a huge move signaling a major shift in American culture and legislation.

Remember that there’s only one state left in the ratification group. Only a single representative from that group of holdouts needs to change. They can win serious acclaim by signing on and pushing the ERA towards more stable ground.

So, which state will “write itself into the history books”, as Oliver described it? If you’re a resident of Florida, think of how nice it would be to make a positive change to society for once. Mississippi could use this as a way to make up for the blatant Confederate symbolism on its state flag. As for Alabama? “It definitely won’t be you”, admitted Oliver.

“Somebody, please do it before Florida, because I do not want to give them credit for this,” the host added on.

As someone who lived in that state for many years, it’s hard to disagree. Really, though, anyone could step forward and not just score points for their state’s reputation, but make a momentous difference in how women are treated in America today and beyond.