Virginia Democrats will take control of the General Assembly next week.  And while their gun control agenda is receiving the vast majority of the media coverage, the Democrats are also planning to ratify the decades-old Equal Rights Amendment and claim that vote will officially add the amendment to the Constitution.

The Equal Rights Amendment, known as ERA, was approved by two-thirds majorities in the U.S. House and Senate in the 1970's but failed to reach the threshold of 38 states within the ten-year window Congress permitted to ratify it.  Democrats believe they can can revive the effort while opponents say it officially died nearly 40 years ago.

What are the legal and political facts in this dispute?  And what would the ERA actually do?

Independent Women's Forum Senior Political Analyst Inez Stepman says its states purpose of mandating equality between the sexes would be redundant since women enjoy the same rights as men.  ]

However, she says the ERA could be very dangerous by not only declaring men and women equal but essentially interchangeable.  And from separate public restrooms to men and women being eligible for the draft, Stepman says the impact could be far-reaching if supporters can overcome the political and legal hurdles.

"It could be an enormous legal change.  If their legal theories are accepted and they ratify the ERA, all kinds of laws today that Americans take for granted could be constitutionally infirm and struck down by the courts," said Stepman.

Listen to the full podcast to learn what's at stake in this debate and how the fight is likely to play out.