LOTS OF DISCUSSION OF WHAT AN EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT WOULD DO, over at the Volokh Conspiracy. Ilya Somin comments: “If enacted today, the ERA would have a number of effects that many political liberals will deplore, including abolishing affirmative action for women and cutting back on key aspects of Title IX. It might also have some results that they would approve of, such as potentially undercutting bans on same-sex marriage. To my mind, the effects that liberals dislike are more likely to arise – at least in the short term – than those they will applaud. Affirmative action for women and Title IX gender balancing have considerably weaker political support than the restriction of marriage to opposite sex couples, and are therefore more likely to be struck down by politically savvy judges interpreting the ERA.”

Follow the links at the bottom of Somin’s discussion to see the other Volokh posts on the subject. I support the E.R.A. and I’ll be interested to see how its political evolution occurs in light of this kind of consideration.