Minds Can Be Changed

If Ilya Somin's analysis were true I might just turn into a supporter of the ERA -- or whatever they're calling it now.

"Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

If enacted today, the ERA would have a number of effects that many political liberals will deplore, including abolishing affirmative action for women and cutting back on key aspects of Title IX. It might also have some results that they would approve of, such as potentially undercutting bans on same-sex marriage. To my mind, the effects that liberals dislike are more likely to arise - at least in the short term - than those they will applaud.

But that's probably only likely if we have a Supreme Court that has a conservative majority -- that is, one that considers itself bound by the letter of the law and not its, um, penumbras.