The Equal Rights Amendment (known as ERA) was first proposed in Congress by the National Woman's Party in 1923. In the 1960s and '70s, efforts were made to ratify the amendment as a way to eliminate all legal gender-based discrimination in the United States.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the measure in 1970, and the U.S. Senate followed suit in 1972. But in order to ratify the U.S. Constitution, three-fourths of the states - or 38 of the 50 - had to vote in favor of its passage.

On March 28, 1973, the measure was brought up before the Ohio House of Representatives. Although Ohio was among the 35 states that voted in favor of ratification, the measure fell three votes/states short of winning passage, and as of 2006, the U.S. Constitution still had no explicit provisions prohibiting gender discrimination.

With thanks to the Ohio Historical Society and the archives of WOSU Radio, portions of Ohio's legislative debate on the Equal Rights Amendment have been made available.

Download the audio to your mp3 player.