About: Minnesota ERA - Educate, Motivate, Activate
Adding an ERA to Our Minnesota Constitution. Our goal is to get an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) on the Minnesota ballot for the November 8, 2022 state wide election.
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Although it passed in the House in 2019 [see the floor vote HERE], it never made it's way through the Senate during the 2019-2020 session - which means we have to start all over for the 2021-2022 session. It has to be heard and passed in the House and Senate to make it onto the 2022 MN ballot. [Looking for Federal ERA? Check HERE * Want to know what happened the last legislative session? Check HERE ]
Two amendments are being proposed this session. They simply read:
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Fun Fact: 26 States already have a state ERA! See Who Question: Why doesn't Minnesota? Answer: Why indeed! It has to pass both the House and the Senate to be put on the ballot so citizens can vote on it. It passed the House last session, but not the Senate. |
ERA Minnesota Campaign
- With a unified, diverse collaboration of members, ERA Minnesota will mount an effective public awareness campaign.
- We will develop an effective legislative strategy with House and Senate leadership to ensure passage out of both bodies during the legislative session.
- We will educate voters* statewide about the fact that we still need equal protection embedded in our state and federal constitutions, agitate voters to motivate them to want to do something about it and activate voters to contact their legislators - hold them accountable and then vote.
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How to Amend the State Constitution - Simplified:
*Committees for MN Equal Rights Amendment (however, there may be changes as it moves through the process):
House:
Senate:
Members: See below. ^ Simple Majority vs Majority
Scroll down to the end to learn more about amending the constitution. |
The 2021-2022 Legislation
There are 5 ERA bills in the Senate and 3 in the House! Maybe this will show Gazelka that the people are serious about this!
2021: Senate Files 323 & 423 & House File 406. "Equality under the law shall not be abridged or denied on account of sex." This mirrors the US ERA language.
2021: Senate File 342 & 850 & House File 726 - "Equality under the law shall not be abridged or denied on account of gender." The same as the SF323, SF423 & HF406 - but replaces "sex" with "gender."
2021: Senate File 730 & 879; HF ? (none introduced yet)
A resolution relating to the ratification of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution; memorializing Congress to remove the extra-textual time limit for ratification of the amendment by the states. SF730 chief author is Sen. Jen McEwen (D, SD07) SF879 chief author is Sen. Patricia Torres Ray (D, SD63) Status: Referred to Civil Law and Data Practices Policy Committee |
Committees & Their Members
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House Committees
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Judiciary Finance & Civil Law Division
State Office Building, Rm 200 100 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd Meets: Tues & Thurs @ 8:30 am Chair: Becker-Finn, DFL/42B Vice Chair: Moller, DFL/42A Republican lead: Scott, R/35B
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Ways & Means
State Office Building, Rm 200 100 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd Meets: Call of the Chair Chair: Moran, DFL/65A Vice Chair: Olson, DFL/07B Republican lead: Garofalo, R/58B
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Rules & Legislative Admin
State Office Building, Rm 200 100 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd Meets: Call of the Chair Chair: Winkler - DFL/46A Vice Chair: Agbaje - DFL/59B Republican lead: Daudt - R/31A
Floor Vote
Members: 134 MN State Capitol - House Chambers Meets: Thursday, March 7 @ 3:30 pm See 2019 Floor Vote Watch video clips of expert testimony presented to this committee.
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Senate Committees: ***Red is AGAINST | Green is FOR ***
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Civil Law and Data Practices Policy
MN Capital Building, Room G-15 75 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Meets: Tues & Thurs @ 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. Chair: Andrew Mathews (15, R) 651.296.8075; ERA Position? Vice Chair: Warren Limmer (34,R) 651-296-2159
If contacting them look HERE for what to do and say. |
Rules & Administration
MN Senate Bldg (MSB), Rm 3113 95 University Ave W Meets: Call of the Chair Chair: Paul Gazelka (09,R) 651-296-4875 Vice Chair: Mark Johnson (01,R) 651-296-5782; ERA Position?
If contacting them look HERE for what to do and say. |
FAQs
To learn more about issues and concerns about the ERA click on a question below.
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Q: What is the complete text of the MinNesota ERA? What are the bill numbers?
Q: What is the History of the ERA?
A: The Equal Rights Amendment was written by Alice Paul in 1921 and first introduced by the Republican Party in 1923. It remained in the party platform until 1980. Presidents Ford and Nixon and their spouses vigorously supported ratifying the ERA. Alice Paul was a Republican. The 19th amendment & the ERA - both written by Alice Paul and friends - have almost identical wording, with the substitution of only four words in the text. 19th Amendment reads: The right to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex; the ERA reads: Equality of rights shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on of account sex. The Equal Rights Amendment was intended to follow the 19th amendment, not languish for 93 years. Over the years, resistance to constitutional gender equality has changed but has continued to mirror its generation’s perceptions:
Q: Will ERA affect Women in the Military?
A: Constitutionally protected gender equality would provide equal opportunity and redress to women bravely serving in the military. Currently women serve in combat positions – even without an equal rights clause in our constitution. Women can fight and die for their country but they do not have equal rights. One of the primary reasons for the ERA's failure in the 70's and early 80’s was never a legitimate concern - that women would be drafted. Selective Service for women (The Draft): Congress has always had the right to draft women; passage of the ERA would not affect the draft. Q: Would the ERA force religions to ordain women?
A: No. Passage of the ERA would not require religions to ordain women, as the constitution provides for the separation of church and state. Religious freedom would be unaffected by the ratification of the ERA religious hierarchies would continue to be able to exercise their authority over religious matters. Religious liberty falls under separation of church and state; for example: some churches reserve the right to not marry divorced persons or couples who don't complete premarital counseling etc. These decisions of churches will remain unaffected by constitutional gender equality. Q: Will women lose social security benefits?
A: No. The Widow benefit was converted to a survivor or spousal benefit (male or female) in the 1970s in anticipation of passage of the ERA, and it continues to be the standard to this day. Q: Will the ERA cause unisex bathrooms?
A: Unisex bathrooms already exist at stores like Trader Joes, on airplanes, in many public buildings, restaurants, theatres, shopping centers, trains and bus stations - where single stall & family bathrooms are the norm. The ERA did not cause unisex bathrooms; they evolved over time as society found the necessity to provide them. This would not change with the passage of the ERA and is not a valid reason to deny constitutionally protected gender equality to the majority sex, as women are 52% of the U.S. population. |
Q: HOW WOULD the ERA AFFECT Reproductive rights?
A: Women’s equality necessarily requires reproductive and bodily autonomy, and without control over our bodies, women cannot participate as full and equal citizens in this country. The concerns raised of expanding access to public funding of reproductive health care or abortion in Minnesota was settled in 1995 by the Supreme Court's constitutional ruling in Doe v. Gomez. Q: THE 14TH AMENDMENT, THE EQUAL protection clause, ALREADY PROVIDES EQUALITY, isn't that enough?
A: Section 2 of the 14th Amendment specifically includes the word male citizen and male inhabitant three times and is very gender specific in its applicability to males. Female citizens and female inhabitants are not mentioned. A constitutional amendment (the Equal Rights Amendment) is needed to provide constitutionally protected gender equality for women. FYI: If women had been protected under Article XIV of the U.S. Constitution, then Article XIX - the 19th Amendment - providing women the right to vote – would not have been necessary. Q: DON’T WE ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH LAWS FOR WOMEN?
A: We have laws that can be changed by a simple majority in either our legislatures, Congress or the courts. Women and men do not have guaranteed protection against gender discrimination in our constitution -- and thus our country. The Equal Rights Amendment would add strict judicial protection and enforcement to existing legislation. Those elements named in the constitution, i.e. race, religion, and national origin, receive “strict scrutiny” in courts of law; but protection of gender against discrimination is not specified in the constitution, and thereby only receives “intermediate scrutiny”; resulting in unequal justice for women and men. Sen. Kelly Ayotte once stated when explaining why she voted against The Equal Pay Act, "The reason that I voted against that specific bill is that, I looked at it, and there were already existing laws that need to be enforced". Yet without the clear legal guidance provided by a Constitutional amendment, the incremental patchwork of laws addressing women, equal opportunity, and pay equity are "nails without a hammer". Justice Scalia when asked why he voted against The Lilly Ledbetter Petition stated, "The Constitution does not prohibit discrimination based on sex, thus I was under no constitutional obligation to do so". Q: Does having an ERA benefit Taxpapers?
A: Yes. Constitutionally guaranteed equality would reinforce existing laws and clarify women’s legal rights to economic and employment parity with men. When women are paid less for the same job as men, or are denied equal opportunities for advancement, it damages our economy and our community. For too long women have been treated as ‘cheap labor’, underpaid for equal work. When women’s salaries have neither parity with men’s salaries nor opportunity for advancement, government safety net programs such as SNAP (food stamps) and reduced-cost lunch programs are needed to make up the slack in wages. Better pay would help reduce the need (costs) of these programs. Women deserve the same dignity as men when providing for their families - without having to rely on government assistance to backfill the wage gap. Q: IS THE ERA PARTISAN?
A: The ERA should not be partisan. The fight for equality has a long bipartisan history and bipartisanship must be the key to success of its final ratification.
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Learn more about Amending the Constitution:
Want to know even more? Check out "Minnesota Constitutional Amendments: History and Legal Principals"
