ST. PAUL — Chants from the Minnesota Capitol’s rotunda and a crowd of green signs that read “ERA Yes!” added to the frenzy of the start of Minnesota’s legislative session Tuesday morning, Jan. 14.
About 150 people gathered at 10 a.m., ahead of the session’s start at noon, in support of the Equal Rights Amendment, a constitutional amendment that would be on Minnesotans’ ballots in 2026 if passed through the Legislature.
The ERA would enshrine equal rights in the Minnesota Constitution, prohibiting discrimination based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, “pregnancy outcomes” and more. This year marks the 42nd year a version of an ERA has been introduced before the Minnesota Legislature. Across the country, 38 states have added versions of an equal rights amendment to their constitutions.
The bill passed the House last year with a 68-62 vote but never came before the Senate. This session, Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St.Paul, and Sen. Mary Kunesh, DFL-New Brighton, will introduce the bill to their respective chambers.
“ERA advocates have been at the frontlines for decades, and it’s beyond time to deliver for the people of Minnesota,” Finke said in a statement. “Laws can be repealed, changed or undermined by shifting political tides. A constitutional amendment, however, locks in protections for the long term.”
While Minnesota already has similar equal rights protections in law, it doesn’t have them in its constitution. Last session, Republican opponents of the bill said it doesn’t include enough protections. The major sticking points for opponents include the “pregnancy outcome” clause and the exclusion of protection of fetuses, as well as the absence of “religion” in the long list of protected identities.
Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, spoke at Tuesday’s rally about what he sees as threats from the incoming administration of President-Elect Donald Trump.
“We have the chance to explicitly help shield our state from these threats by enacting the Minnesota ERA,” Champion said. “I understand, too closely, how important it is for all of us that have rights and for all those rights to be protected.”
The rally saw support from Minnesota-based groups like Gender Justice, the League of Women Voters, the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, the Minnesota Council on Disability and more.
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“Amid this fraught political moment, Minnesota has the chance to lead,” Kunesh said. “We can show the nation that Minnesota is committed to equality and dignity for all. The ERA is about who we are as a state — and about securing the future Minnesotans deserve.”
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