South Dakota sues to keep Equal Rights Amendment off U.S. Constitution

Lisa Kaczke | Sioux Falls Argus Leader

South Dakota is suing the archivist of the United States to prevent the addition of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg announced on Wednesday that the state is joining Alabama and Louisiana in a federal lawsuit against Archivist David Ferriero, who oversees the ratification process, "to stop activists from illegally amending the U.S. Constitution."

The Equal Rights Amendment is a constitutional amendment passed by Congress in 1972 to guarantee the equal rights of men and women.

Ravnsborg said the duty of the state attorney general is to defend the South Dakota Legislature, and he would be doing a disservice to South Dakotans to ignore that obligation. The South Dakota Legislature ratified the ERA in 1973 but then rescinded its ratification in 1979.

"This is an issue of following the rule of law, the rules that our Founding Fathers put into place to protect us from government making decisions without the consent or support of 'we the people,'" Ravnsborg said.

The lawsuit was prompted by the November election in Virginia, where Democrats won leadership of the Legislature. The newly elected leaders of the Virginia Legislature campaigned on ratifying the ERA in January, and if that happens, the state will become the 38th and final state needed to ratify it.

If Congress passes an updated version of the Equal Rights Amendment, Ravnsborg said he has no doubt the state Legislature would debate it in a new ratification process. However, the U.S. Constitution shouldn't be amended by "procedural nuances" decades after the deadline to ratify the 1972 ERA.

In a statement on Thursday, South Dakota Democratic Party leaders said they were "shocked" by Ravnsborg's lawsuit.

"It's astounding that the same year we're planning a celebration of 100 years of women having the right to vote, our state is spending taxpayer dollars to make sure the U.S. Constitution doesn't include equal rights for women under the law," said SDDP Vice Chair Nikki Gronli. "Here we are still fighting for equality in 2019."

SDDP Chair Randy Seiler said he was also "flabbergasted" by the state wanting to spend taxpayer dollars on the lawsuit.

"I am appalled, frankly, at the lack of respect for women," Seiler said. "Why is this administration taking this on? It makes no sense."