The Delaware Equal Rights Amendment moved one step closer to becoming law last Thursday, when the state House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass a constitutional amendment that would bar discrimination by the state “on account of the sex.”

The 35-6 vote sent the ERA on to the Senate, where lawmakers are also expected this week to approve the second leg of the amendment, completing a legislative process that started last year. However, observers on both sides of the issue are expecting the Delaware courts to have the final say on the scope and legality of the measure, which has been viewed as a landmark moment for civil rights in the first state.