Matthew Casey/KJZZ

Kelli Butler

The text of the Equal Rights Amendment is just 24 words long and it would add to the U.S. Constitution just one thing: Equal rights under the law regardless of sex.

It was first introduced by the National Women’s Party in the 1920s, and it has come up again and again over the last century, but it has rarely even made it to the floor for a vote in Congress.

But in the early 1970s, a renewed women's movement brought the ERA to the center stage again.

In 1972, the amendment won overwhelming support in both the House and the Senate, but then the tide turned, and activists failed to get the necessary 38 states to ratify it.

In 2017, though, Nevada became the 36th state to ratify the amendment and, last year, Illinois become the 37th. Now, just one more state is needed to ratify, and some lawmakers here want Arizona to be that state.

This isn’t the first attempt to ratify the ERA here, the effort has failed multiple times already. State Rep. Kelli Butler has co-sponsored that legislation for three years running, and The Show sat down with her recently to talk more about its chances this time around.

The Show also reached out to Sen. Eddie Farnsworth for comment on this story and whether or not he will give the ERA resolution a hearing in his committee. We have not heard back.

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