00:00 The Equal Rights Amendment is a proposed constitutional amendment that would provide women with equal protection under the law, despite the common misconception that this protection already exists.

05:11 The Equal Rights Amendment has been proposed since the early 1920s but has not been ratified, despite overwhelming public support and the efforts of suffragists and women's rights activists.

10:15 The opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment used to be flip-flopped, with liberals like Eleanor Roosevelt against it and conservatives in favor, but by the early 1970s, more women in Congress made it a priority and it was finally passed in a bipartisan manner.

15:09 Betty Friedan's publication of "The Feminine Mystique" laid the groundwork for the bipartisan passing of the Equal Rights Amendment in Congress in 1972, which required ratification by at least 38 states within seven years.

20:54 Phyllis Schlafly, a skilled debater and organizer, played a major role in stopping the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, preventing it from becoming the law of the land.

26:06 The Equal Rights Amendment has gained support from 37 states, with Nevada and Illinois being the most recent to ratify it, but five states have rescinded their ratification, and Virginia becoming the 38th state to ratify it has reignited the debate over whether the ERA should be considered valid.

31:13 The Equal Rights Amendment has faced opposition due to its expiration date, but with 38 states now in favor of ratifying it, there are ongoing lawsuits to determine its validity and whether it should be certified as part of the Constitution.

36:34 The Equal Rights Amendment is not the only protection for women's rights in the United States, as there are other laws and case law that have been established to protect women from discrimination.

41:58 The more protected a class is in law, the stricter the scrutiny judges will apply to determine if a law is discriminatory, and the Equal Rights Amendment aims to provide the highest level of protection for women's rights.

46:43 The Equal Rights Amendment aims to provide protections for women's rights, including menstrual equity, protection against discrimination by the law, and the ability to sue companies for discrimination, but it does not necessarily protect against violence or individual acts of discrimination, and opposition to the ERA is often based on the belief that it would lead to taxpayer-funded abortion.

51:38 The podcast ends with a listener mail story about a personal encounter with a ninja in the woods, but it is not relevant to the topic of the Equal Rights Amendment.