At the 1980 Republican National Convention , the Republican Party platform was amended to end its support for the ERA . The most prominent opponent of the ERA was Schlafly . Leading the Stop ERA campaign , Schlafly defended traditional gender roles and would often attempt to incite feminists by opening her speeches with lines such as , " I 'd like to thank my husband for letting me be here tonight I always like to say that , because it makes the libs so mad . " When Schlafly began her campaign in 1972 , public polls showed support for the amendment was widely popular and thirty states had ratified the amendment by 1973 . After 1973 , the number of ratifying states slowed to a trickle . Support in the states that had not ratified fell below 50 % . Critchlow and Stachecki noted that public opinion in key states shifted against the ERA as opponents , operating on the local and state levels , won over the public . The state legislators in battleground states followed public opinion in rejecting the ERA
1980 Republican National Convention
1980 Republican National Convention
Equal Rights Amendment