RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia is on the brink of becoming the crucial 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
The vote by both of the state's legislative chambers Wednesday is a momentous victory for many women's rights advocates.
But it is far from certain the measure will ever be added to the U.S. Constitution. The vote came nearly a half-century after Congress sent the ERA to the states for approval in 1972.
Lawsuits are expected over the fact that the deadline set by Congress for ratification ran out in 1982 and other thorny legal issues.
