The remarks were largely a symbolic gesture of support for a century-long campaign to enshrine gender equality in the Constitution. But advocates said they could add heft to a future legal fight.

Biden announced today that the Equal Rights Amendment is the "law of the land," but the Justice Department and the national archivist disagree.

President Joe Biden announced a major opinion Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment is ratified, enshrining its protections into the Constitution, a last-minute move that some believe could pave the way to bolstering reproductive rights.

Did Florida ever ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, the 1972 amendment that declared women equal under the law?

The move has no immediate legal force but will likely spark lawsuits that advocates hope will restore abortion rights.

Biden’s statement has no legal force and a White House official said courts would have to decide whether the amendment is a valid part of America’s constitution

In a last-minute effort to protect reproductive rights, President Joe Biden has announced that the Equal Rights Amendment is ratified. “It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people,

President Joe Biden said Friday that he believes the Equal Rights Amendment, which guarantees equal protections regardless of sex, is the “law of the land” but stopped short of ordering the U.S. archivist to publish the constitutional amendment.

“The American Bar Association (ABA) has recognized that the Equal Rights Amendment has cleared all necessary hurdles to be formally added to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment,” Biden wrote. “I agree with the ABA and with leading legal constitutional scholars that the Equal Rights Amendment has become part of our Constitution.

The ERA’s deadline expired decades ago, but the president argues that recent approvals by three states put the amendment over the top.

Ian Parnell, and his mom Aime Zick, in background, playing pinball Wednesday at Can Can Wonderland in St. Paul. (Renée Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune)