来源：《洛杉矶时报》
刊登日期：2021年3月10日
超纲词：outlaw，ratification，ratify，enactment
Monday was International Women’s Day, a pseudo-holiday to highlight the global achievements of women — as well as the many ways in which they still don’t enjoy the same rights and opportunities as men.
周一是国际妇女节，这个假节日旨在强调女性在全球取得的成就，以及她们在许多方面仍未享受到与男性同等的权利和机会。
To mark the occasion, President Biden announced the creation of the White House Gender Policy Council, which will report directly to him on strategies to advance gender equality and equity domestically and abroad. The council will coordinate federal efforts to combat gender-based discrimination, systemic biases and structural barriers, among other issues.
为了纪念这一节日，拜登总统宣布成立白宫性别政策委员会，该委员会将直接向他汇报国内外促进性别平等和公平的战略。该委员会将协调联邦政府努力，打击性别歧视、系统性偏见和结构性障碍等问题。
Great. Women have been waiting for equal rights under the law. And if Biden truly wants to accomplish the goal in the U.S., then he and his gender policy advisors must make adding the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution a priority in 2021.
太好了。妇女一直在等待法律赋予她们平等的权利。如果拜登真的想在美国实现这一目标，那么他和他的性别政策顾问必须在2021年把平等权利修正案添加到美国宪法中作为优先事项。
It’s been nearly 100 years since the amendment explicitly outlawing sex discrimination was drafted, and 49 years since a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress voted to send it to the states for ratification. Thirty-five states did so within the seven-year deadline that Congress also imposed, and there things stood for four decades until the Nevada Legislature unexpectedly voted to ratify in 2017. Illinois followed suit in 2018.
这项明确禁止性别歧视的修正案起草已近100年，国会两院以三分之二多数票通过该修正案并提交各州批准已近49年。在国会规定的7年期限内，有35个州批准了，此后40年再也没有其他州批准这一修正案，直到2017年内华达州立法机构出人意料地投票批准。2018年，伊利诺伊州也效仿了这一做法。
In January 2020, the Virginia Legislature became the 38th state to ratify, finally giving the ERA approvals in three-fourths of the states — the constitutional requirement for enactment. But because the original deadline set by Congress had lapsed, the national archivist declined to recognize the amendment. After Virginia, Nevada and Illinois sued to reverse the archivist’s ruling, a federal judge ruled against the states, saying Friday that it was just too late.
2020年1月，弗吉尼亚州成为第38个批准该法案的州，最终批准该法案的州数超过四分之三——这是制定修正案的宪法要求。但由于国会最初设定的最后期限已过，国家档案管理员拒绝承认该修正案。弗吉尼亚州、内华达州和伊利诺伊州提起诉讼，要求撤销该档案管理员的决定，周五，一名联邦法官做出了不利于这三个州的裁决，称他们批准修正案的时间太晚了。
It was a setback for the cause of equality, but not the end of the road. There are still viable paths forward. For one thing, Virginia Attoney General Mark Herring said he may appeal the ruling. Ultimately, though, this is a matter best discussed in detail in Congress, which the U.S. Supreme Court has said has the power to decide the viability of a constitutional amendment.
这是平等事业的一次挫折，但不是道路的尽头。仍然有可行的前进道路。首先，弗吉尼亚州司法部长马克·赫林表示，他可能会上诉。不过，最终这个问题最好还是由国会来解决。美国最高法院表示，国会有权决定宪法修正案的可行性。