1982--ERA fails, 3 votes short of ratification
1982
January: The Supreme Court, just 17 days after NOW appealed the Callister ruling, vindicates NOW's position by entering a rarely granted unanimous stay prohibiting the enforcement of Callister's decision and agreeing to hear NOW's appeal on the merits of the case at a later date. This action negates any legal effect of Callister's decision and removes the cloud of confusion that the ruling had placed over the ratification debate in the states.
June 30: ERA is stopped three states short of ratification. ERA supporters pledge "We'll Remember in November." An analysis of the ERA vote in the four key targeted states, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and Oklahoma, shows the Republicans deserted ERA and Democratic support was not strong enough to pass the amendment; the analysis makes clear that the single most obvious problem was the gender and racial imbalance in the legislatures, with more than 2/3 of the women, all of the African Americans but less than 50% of the white men in the targeted legislatures casting pro-ERA votes in 1982.
July: ERA is officially reintroduced in the United States Congress.
1983
The U.S. House of Representatives fails to pass the ERA by a vote of 278 for the ERA and 147 against the ERA, only 6 votes short of the required 2/3 majority for passage. Fourteen cosponsors voted NO and three cosponsors did not vote. Only 30% of the Republicans voted YES and 85% of the Democrats voted YES.
1985-present
The ERA is reintroduced into each session of Congress and held in Committee.
http://womenshistory.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=womenshistory&cdn=education&tm=967&f=00&su=p284.13.342.ip_&tt=2&bt=3&bts=17&zu=http%3A//www.now.org/issues/economic/cea/history.html%231982
