--- title: John Oliver Calls on States to Pass Equal Rights Amendment description: “Somebody please do it before Florida,” said John Oliver on Last Week Tonight canonical: https://time.com/5603729/john-oliver-equal-rights-amendment-last-week-tonight/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-06-10T08:52:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:51:27.239Z og:title: John Oliver Challenges States to Pass Equal Rights Amendment og:description: “Somebody please do it before Florida,” said Oliver og:url: https://time.com/5603729/john-oliver-equal-rights-amendment-last-week-tonight/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9d835ef0828b7e3/69894af7e76ad2592e634c4b/john_oliver_last_week_tonight_era.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: john_oliver_last_week_tonight_era.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John Oliver Challenges States to Pass Equal Rights Amendment twitter:description: “Somebody please do it before Florida,” said Oliver twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9d835ef0828b7e3/69894af7e76ad2592e634c4b/john_oliver_last_week_tonight_era.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John Oliver Challenges 13 States to Pass the Equal Rights Amendment on _Last Week Tonight_ > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=89f0889b-3e36-45f7-a405-7f450c4b7895&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What Ever Happened to the Equal Rights Amendment? [Watch (HLS stream): What Ever Happened to the Equal Rights Amendment?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Wp2zFoLt.m3u8) (2:10)  _Published 2015-08-25. There is still no constitutional guarantee for equal rights for women._ by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jun 10, 2019 8:52 AM UTC There is still no constitutional guarantee for equal rights for women. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jun 10, 2019 8:52 AM UTC John Oliver knows that this year has been rough for women, who “judging from restroom signs are just men who have swallowed a trapezoid.” To cheer women up, after the confirmation of a “[Supreme Court justice](http://time.com/5411241/john-oliver-on-kavanaugh/) with resting beer face” and “the election of a president who thinks of their [genitals as handles](https://time.com/5047771/donald-trump-comments-billy-bush/)”, Oliver has an idea—finally ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Tuesday marked the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment that guaranteed the right to vote, a right that according to Oliver, women should have had “for a lot longer than Kirk Douglas has been breathing.” While voting is an important right, so is equality under the law. However, gender equality is not guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and it won’t be unless the [Equal Rights Amendment](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2025424%5F2025993%5F2026015,00.html) passes. The so-called ERA is just 24 words long, and according to Oliver, 80% of us think it’s already in the Constitution. “It’s one of those things that’s so obvious that you think you already have it,” he said, comparing its protections to the box of baking soda you see in the grocery store and think you definitely have at home only to get home, reach for the baking soda, and realize “f—, women still aren’t guaranteed [equal rights](http://time.com/longform/gender-equality-america/) under the Constitution.” While there are laws and policies guaranteeing equal rights for women, Oliver points out that policy guidelines and laws can change depending on who is in charge. That is happening now, with the Senate allowing the Violence Against Women Act to expire and doing away with Obama-era guidelines protecting against discrimination based on gender. “Constitutional amendments are safe from Donald Trump, unlike Melania’s hopes and dreams and any American flag he gets close to,” said Oliver. The ERA passed the Senate and then the House of Representatives, and then in 1972, the proposed 27th Amendment to the Constitution was sent to the states for ratification. Thirty-seven states have ratified it so far, meaning just one more is needed to make the ERA law. However, momentum for ratification came to a halt, thanks in part to Phyllis Schlafly, described by Oliver as a “pre-internet internet troll.” Due to her efforts and vitriolic debate, the deadline for ratification came and went. That doesn’t mean that the ERA is dead on arrival though. According to Oliver, legal scholars believe that Congress can simply change the deadline again or do away with the deadline entirely and allow the ERA to be ratified. To that point, Nevada and Illinois have ratified the ERA in the last few years and now just one more state is needed to make the ERA law. There are 13 states that Oliver points out could genuinely make history by making the ERA the law of the land. “None of this is that complicated,” said Oliver. “Equality for women should be a basic principle for our society. If you think it already is, great, all the more reason to write it down. And if you think it isn’t, then we badly need the ERA.” To do that Oliver beseeched the states to take a stand and ratify the ERA. The states that could make history, include Arizona, Georgia, Oklahoma, either Carolina, Utah, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama (“It definitely won’t be you,” said Oliver) or Virginia (“You’re the birthplace of Chris Brown, Rick Santorum and Pat Robertson, so frankly you owe America this.”) Oliver just had one request: “Somebody please do it before Florida, because I do not want to give them credit for this.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] It's been 95 years since women in the US gained the right to vote. And since then, the fight for women's rights has come a long way. In the 70s, Title IX outlawed discrimination [ MUSIC ] A combination based on sex and public schools and government programs. And yet, there's actually no general Constitutional guarantee of equal rights for women. In 1972, Congress passed the equal rights Rights Amendment, or ERA, which simply states equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any state, on account of sex. But in the end, that amendment never became part of the constitution. The amendment was introduced by women's' rights activist Alice Paul in 1923. She argued that the then recent passage of the nineteenth amendment, which gave women the right to vote, would not protect women against discrimination in other areas of life. Between 1923 and 1972, the amendment was introduced in every Congressional session. Many famous feminists like Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem staunchly supported the idea. Even First Lady Betty Ford voiced her support. It will help knock down those restrictions that have locked women in. But the Amendment was not without its opponents. And surprisingly the head of the stop ERA campaign was not a man. [ MUSIC ] But a woman leading the charge against the ERA was conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly. She argued that it would actually hurt women by forcing them to be part of the military draft and ending certain protections such as alimony after divorce. When the ERA made it out of Congress and was sent to each state to be ratified, Schlafly led a campaign to stop its momentum. Whether by her intervention or not, the amendment was only ratified by 35 of the 38 states needed to amend the Constitution. But despite the fact that it still hasn't been ratified, the Equal Rights Amendment has not been completely forgotten. The amendment has been introduced all over again in every Congress since then. 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