Trump administration asks court to dismiss lawsuit to add ERA to US Constitution

In January, the attorneys general of Virginia, Illinois and Nevada sued US archivist David Ferriero in US District Court in Washington, DC, to force him to "carry out his statutory duty of recognizing the complete and final adoption" of the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.

On Thursday, Department of Justice officials with the civil division filed a motion to dismiss the case -- an expected move that follows a January opinion from the department's Office of Legal Counsel that the deadline to ratify the ERA has expired.

In a court document, the officials argued that the plaintiffs lack standing because they haven't alleged a "concrete injury" linked to the actions of the US archivist and that the complaint should be dismissed "for failure to state a claim."

They also argue that whether states can validly rescind ratification of an amendment isn't "ripe for review" and that the plaintiff's claims would require the court to "decide issues that are non-justiciable political questions."

The same officials in April filed a motion to dismiss another federal lawsuit in Massachusetts, where the group Equal Means Equal has sued to ensure the ERA is adopted.

Supporters say the ERA would ban discrimination on the basis of sex and guarantee equality for women under the Constitution, while opponents argue many protections are already enshrined at the state level and that the ERA would allow more access to abortion.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, who's leading the lawsuit in DC, condemned the Trump administration's actions.

"Donald Trump is telling the women of America that, after 231 years, they should just sit down and wait even longer for equal treatment under the Constitution. It's wrong, it's offensive, and it's shameful," Herring, a Democrat, said in a statement Friday.

"If the Trump Administration opposes a Constitutional guarantee of equality for women then they should just say so rather than hiding behind process and trying to throw the issue into (Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell's hands," he added.

Virginia ratified the ERA in January, which supporters argue was the final step toward the 38-state threshold necessary to enshrine an amendment in the US Constitution.

Efforts in the US Congress to keep the matter alive and eliminate the ERA deadline have stalled.

The Democratic-led US House in February voted to eliminate the deadline, but McConnell has given no indication that the GOP-led Senate would take up the House resolution.