Next Friday, March 8th, ERA Minnesota announces our celebration of International Women’s Day #IWD2019 by hosting the 3rd Annual ERA Rally at the Minnesota Capitol Rotunda. The event will feature Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan along with top legislative leaders and ERA supporters, to spotlight the urgent need for an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in our state and federal constitutions.

Legislative leaders and thousands of activists from across the state are pushing to pass two initiatives currently in the Minnesota House & Senate: HF13 (Kunesh-Podein)/SF200 (Cohen) - a Minnesota ERA to the state constitution providing for gender equality under the law and proposing a constitutional amendment that will be added to the ballot in the 2020 general election for voters to decide; and HF71 (Moran)/SF208 (Pappas) - a resolution memorializing Congress to remove the words “June 30th 1982” that comprised the deadline imposed on the ERA federal legislation so the ERA it can be added to the U.S. Constitution when ratified by the last state.

The Minnesota House is poised to pass both bills in the coming week. All attention and energies will then pivot to the Minnesota Senate to give the bills full and fair hearings to pass the ERA.

WHAT:  ERA Lobby Day & Rally at the Capitol
WHEN:  Friday, March 8th, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm, Rally at 10:00 AM
               (Lobby your senator before and after the Rally)
WHERE:  Minnesota State Capitol Rotunda
HOSTED BY: ERA Minnesota

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS: 

• Governor Tim Walz
• Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan
• Sen. Dick Cohen
• Sen. Sandy Pappas
• Sen. Scott Dibble
• Rep. Mary Kunesh-Podein
• Rep. Rena Moran
• Rep. Kaohly Her
• Rep. Hunter Cantrell

ERA Bill Numbers: HF13/SF200; and HF71/SF208.

Despite all of this progress, it does not mean the fight is over. Prejudice and hate still lurk around the corners. June 12th, 2016 in Orlando, Florida the tragedy that is the Pule night club shooting took place. 49 were killed and 43 injured. As uncomfortable as it is, we can not let events like this be put to the side or forgotten. However, that does not mean be shaken by fear. We are here to fight for a world where people can express themselves freely without such fears.  
 
Even where there is no physical oppression, mental oppression exists attaching guilt as well as a struggle of identity and self-acceptance to one’s sexuality. Many places, such as churches, fall into the habit of rejecting the LGBTQ community. Stripping them of a place of worship and implanting ideas of being unwanted and unforgivable. The mindset of ‘praying the gay away’ is a poisonous one that still runs rampant in today’s society, creating a bad reputation for both the LGBTQ community and the church itself. The stigma it’s created on members of the LGBTQ community continues to exist not only in the church and other places of worship, but outside as well.

In fact the 2015 national youth risk behavior survey showed that 34% of LGBTQ students were bullied on school property, 28% of LGBTQ students were bullied through electronic means, and 13% of LGBTQ students did not go to school because of safety concerns.