In a last gasp effort to remain relevant — and, knowing Uncle Joe, to do what he feels is the right thing — our president has announced that, as far as he’s concerned, the ERA is the law of the land, the 28th Amendment, properly ratified by the states.

He’s wrong, but that didn’t stop him.

Mind you, he doesn’t actually need to be right for his announcement to matter.

Let me clarify: What he’s said, even if he puts it in the form of an Executive Order, can and will have no power to change the Constitution. That text lies entirely outside Presidential authority. Even publication of such status by the National Archivist would be insufficient, since any convened court would almost instantly strike it down.

The simple fact of the matter is, state ratification came long after the deadline set by Congress, so much so that it was considered an empty gesture even at the time it happened, some twenty-five years ago. For it to enter codified law today as a result would be a ludicrous abuse of procedure and due process, an imposition of executive power far beyond the scope of what exists.

Moreover, many consider the amendment itself both meaningless and unnecessary. The points it raises are covered in the Fourteenth Amendment already: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

(NOTE: It can be argued that the Fourteenth doesn’t prohibit the Federal Government from abridging the rights of its citizens through act of law. This is both true and absurdly specious; the Federal Government is already prohibited from doing so by the Ninth and Tenth Amendments.)

So: What does it matter? It doesn’t. The lame-duck president made a meaningless statement about something he has no power to change.

And yet, it does advance a long-dead issue to the forefront of dialogue. On a weekend which, by most expectations, ought to be focused on coverage of a new president, the public has been given a reason to think about something else: the rights of the individual, and specifically of women. Further, the incoming administration is presented with the choices either to ignore the statement (which leaves it in the public record as the last word on the subject) or to acknowledge and deny it, which serves the purpose Uncle Joe intended.

The third option, which would be a reasoned explanation of why the ERA is unnecessary, would be the wise move. As such, this writer thinks it’s entirely beyond the capacity of the incoming administration — but he admits he could potentially be wrong, and indeed would be delighted to be proven so.

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