URGENT – Three Democratic attorneys general sue over Equal Rights Amendment

(CNN) — Three attorneys general of states that recently ratified the Equal Rights Amendment are suing to have the amendment added to the Constitution, challenging a Justice Department opinion that the deadline for passage expired decades ago. In a complaint filed Thursday, the attorneys general of Virginia, Illinois and Nevada are asking the US District Court in Washington, DC, to force the archivist of the United States, who administers the ratification process, to acknowledge the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. The suit is the first legal response by liberal-leaning states to force ERA’s passage following Virginia’s ratification earlier this week, which supporters say is the final step toward the 38-state threshold necessary to enshrine an amendment in the US Constitution. Opponents argue the deadline to pass the amendment expired decades ago, and several states that were among the 38 have since rescinded their support.