Last Friday, former President Biden declared the Equal Rights Amendment "the law of the land" - so why has it failed to become the nation's 28th constitutional amendment.

The Equal Rights Amendment, which would prohibit discrimination based on gender, was sent to the states for ratification in 1972. Congress set a deadline of 1979 for three-quarters of state legislatures to ratify the amendment, then extended it to 1982.

Presidents have no direct role in approving constitutional amendments. So what could President Biden’s pronouncement recognizing a new one actually do?

President Joe Biden’s declaration the Equal Rights Amendment is “the law of the land” likely only sets up more debates for Congress and the courts.

U.S. President Joe Biden called the Equal Rights Amendment "the law of the land," on Friday, backing an effort to enshrine the change into the U.S. Constitution even though it long ago failed to secure the approval of enough states to become an amendment.

But what matters, legal experts say, is what Biden didn’t do: He didn’t order the archivist of the United States to formally publish the amendment. And he didn’t direct the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel to withdraw its written opinion that the deadline for ratification expired long ago.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand says at a news conference an hour after President Joe Biden issued a statement of his belief that the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified that the day marks a historic achievement for women and girls as equality becomes enshrined in the Constitution after Biden's recognition of the ERA as law enables millions to challenge discriminatory laws in court.