Virginia could become the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

The legislature for the increasingly blue state reconvenes Jan. 9 and will consider measures to approve the gender-equality amendment.

Its passage would mean the ERA has reached the threshold for ratification. But it’s unlikely to be enshrined in the U.S. Constitution any time soon.

Congress approved the ERA for ratification by the states in 1972. And 35 had ratified it by a 1982 deadline.

There has been much debate over whether the ERA can be revived.

ERA proponents question the constitutionality of amendment deadlines. And bills in Congress seek to remove the 1982 expiration date.

In the last two years, Illinois and Nevada ratified the amendment. Experts say a legal battle will likely ensue after 38 states ratify.

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