says equal rights under the law shall not be abridged by the united states or by any state on account of sex. >> male opponents in the senate called it the unisex amendment. they said it would destroy traditional man/woman relationships, weaken family ties, increase homosexuality. >> the equal rights amendment passed first of all because it was a very powerful congresswoman, martha griffiths of michigan, who was strongly in favor of that. secondly, because the republican party wasn't opposed to it. there wasn't a political opposition. it was more cultural opposition. when the equal rights amendment was adopted, it had a seven-year time frame for ratification. otherwise, there would be no equal rights amendment. >> this amendment could have wide repercussions, affecting the military draft, a father's responsibility to support his children, sex crimes, and protective labor legislation. >> i think the very term e.r.a. started opening up a look at everything. it was sort of like ripping off