PHILADELPHIA — Progressive activists in Congress have put mounting pressure on President Joe Biden to direct the archivist of the United States to certify and publish the Equal Rights Amendment — which would become the first explicit mention of women in the U.

The Equal Rights Amendment, which would prohibit discrimination based on gender, was sent to the states for ratification in 1972. Congress set a deadline of 1979 for three-quarters of state legislatures to ratify the amendment, then extended it to 1982.

President Joe Biden’s declaration the Equal Rights Amendment is “the law of the land” likely only sets up more debates for Congress and the courts