Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

Virginia has the chance to make history this year with those 24 simple words.

In his State of the Commonwealth address last week, Gov. Ralph Northam made a plea for the General Assembly to take the momentous step of becoming the last state necessary to ratify what would be the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution—the Equal Rights Amendment.

“If we are going to work together to ensure that every Virginian has equal opportunity for a successful life, that means enshrining equal rights for women and legal protections against discrimination in our laws,” Northam said. “This is not a partisan issue, and legislators from both parties have long championed this idea. Virginia can be the 38th and final state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment this year—it’s time we do so.”

At present, 37 states have ratified the Constitutiona...