ST. PAUL, Minn. — After a delay earlier this week as a result of lengthy debates on other legislationOn Friday, the Minnesota House was poised to pass an amendment that would enshrine equal rights in the state constitution, including protections for LGTBQ Minnesotans and abortion rights.
The Equal Rights Amendment states that “the State shall not intentionally or effectually discriminate against any person on the basis of” race, color, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity. It also protects “the making and carrying out of decisions on all matters relating to one’s own pregnancy or the decision to become or remain pregnant,” which would strengthen abortion rights.
Lawmakers debated the measure for a few hours Friday afternoon before breaking to discuss other education-related legislation. They are expected to resume debate on the ERA later this evening.
“We want to make sure we value each other as Minnesotans by banning discrimination. We need to enshrine the protections in the Constitution,” said Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, DFL-St. Paul, the author of the proposal, said. “Case law and statutes are subject to political winds and the composition of judges’ political preferences. The right should not depend on these changes.”
Republicans condemned adding protections to abortion rights, which were not included in the ERA that passed the Senate with bipartisan support last year. They believe voters should ask two separate questions: one about equal rights and one about abortion.
GOP members also raised concerns about “age” and “religion” being excluded from the protected classes listed in the amendment.
“Groups of people protected by our Human Rights Act have been left out of the constitutional amendment,” said Rep. Anne Neu Brindley, R-North. “The Democrats have literally chosen to deliberately exclude groups of people from the protections in the Constitution.”
If it passes the House of Representatives on Friday, it will be sent back to the Minnesota Senate, where its fate is unknown. DFL Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy has not pledged that her caucus — which has just a one-seat majority — will support the new language in the House of Representatives.
“I want to see what they adopt to know if we can support it. We spent a lot of time on the new language. We’ve had a number of conversations as members about what that means,” she told reporters on Friday. morning. “So we’re going to see what they do. We will see if they adopt amendments, and then we will make a decision.”
Voters would have a chance to cast ballots in 2026 if both chambers are cleared before Monday, when the Legislature must adjourn its regular session.
The ERA was initially on the debate calendar in the House of Representatives on Monday, but Republicans debated other bills and ran out the clock, postponing a vote for later in the week. It is among a number of proposals that still haven’t crossed the finish line as the end approaches, such as sports betting and a bill to support local infrastructure projects — which would require a three-fifths majority to pass, requiring Republican support.
GOP leaders said they wanted the DFL to change course on the ERA and other issues controversial bills to get their vote on bonding. But House Speaker Melissa Hortman said so Thursday The Democrats would not negotiate with the Equal Rights Amendment.
‘If the Republicans make their support for our bonding law dependent on the denial of civil rights [transgender] Minnesotans, then we don’t have a bail law,” she said.
This story is developing and will be updated.
Caroline Cummings
