President Biden says he believes the amendment has met the requirements to be enshrined in the Constitution. Its history has been long and complex.

Legal scholars say President Joe Biden might be right about the Equal Rights Amendment — but his declaration on Friday has no legal significance. In a surprise move on his way out of office, Biden proclaimed that the amendment has met the requirements for ratification and is now part of the Constitution.

The struggle over the Equal Rights Amendment started more than a century ago when suffragist Alice Paul first proposed it shortly after the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the