House stops Democrats’ bid to vote on Equal Rights Amendment

Republicans who control the Arizona House have turned back an effort by Democrats to force a vote on the federal Equal Rights Amendment.

Thursday’s effort to force action came months after Democrats introduced a ratification resolution. It never received a hearing.

Republican Speaker J.D. Mesnard blocked the effort by moving to recess, setting off an hour-long series of speeches by Democrats as a formal vote on his motion was held.

Mesnard says he has no intention of allowing a vote this year.

The Constitutional amendment was passed by Congress in 1972 and referred to the states for ratification. It received only 35 of the needed 38 state ratifications by a 1982 deadline.

Nevada’s Democratically-controlled Legislature made that state the first to approve the amendment in decades last month.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.