Minnesota lawmakers consider constitutional amendment to protect abortion and LGBTQ rights – Winnipeg Free Press

ST. PAUL, Minnesota Democrats have introduced sweeping legislation to add abortion and LGBTQ rights to the state constitution in hopes of making it harder for future lawmakers to repeal those and other rights in the future.

Minnesota's Equal Rights Amendment was introduced last week and had its first legislative hearing on Monday. If approved by lawmakers this session and then by voters on the 2026 ballot, it would be one of the most sweeping abortion and LGBTQ rights measures in the country.

“This is not just about reproductive justice,” said Betty Folliard, whose group Minnesota ERA has been pushing for the measure since 2014. “It's also about wage inequality, historical stereotypes and discrimination that have been ignored for generations. generation”.

Minnesota has a Human Rights Act that prevents discrimination against individuals, businesses, schools, and other institutions. The constitutional amendment applies to state government and protects certain laws — including Minnesota's recent asylum laws for out-of-state residents seeking abortions and gender-affirming care — from being overturned by future lawmakers and administrations.

House Majority Leader Jamie Long, D-Minneapolis, said in a statement that he strongly supports the ERA proposal, saying it “supports our core values ​​of equality, non-discrimination and reproductive freedom.”

Republican leaders have not said whether they support or oppose the proposal.

Opponents, including anti-abortion groups, religious organizations and conservative lawmakers, say the move is excessive and divisive.

The wording of the amendment prohibits the state from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, national origin, disability, or sex, including gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. Nor can the state discriminate against a person who “makes and carries out decisions about all matters relating to her pregnancy, or whether to become or remain pregnant.”

If approved by the Legislature, in 2026, voters would be asked: “The Minnesota Constitution guarantees all persons equal rights under the laws of this state and regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, or sex, including pregnancy, sex, or sexual orientation?”

If approved, the amendment will take effect on January 1, 2027.

Groups opposing the proposal include the Minnesota Family Council, a Christian advocacy group; Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, an anti-abortion group; and the Minnesota Catholic Conference, a political organization of the Catholic Church.

Moses Bratrud, spokesman for the Minnesota Family Council, said in an earlier statement: “The new ERA does not protect the rights of Minnesotans, it is about abortion and gender ideology. And while previous versions of the ERA included “faith”-based protections, the new version removes religious freedom protections. This is a concern for Minnesotans of all religious backgrounds.”

Last year, another Minnesota ERA proposal passed the Senate but did not receive a final vote in the House.

Several Democrats have previously expressed concerns that the ERA proposal should do more to protect the transgender community and reproductive rights, according to Democratic Rep. Kaohli Wang Her, the lead author of the proposals last year and this year.

The St. Paul native said the increase in attacks on transgender people in recent years and the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. The overturning of the Wade case was a major issue for many Democrats.

Democrats hold only narrow majorities in each chamber — their margin is just one vote in the Senate — so if Republicans oppose the legislation, they need the support of a majority in their own party. If placed on the ballot, a constitutional amendment must be approved by a majority of all voters present, not a majority of those who voted on the issue.

The proposed amendment would differ from the state's Human Rights Act, said Megan Peterson, executive director of the Gender Justice Advocacy Organization, which helped draft the ERA proposal.

The Minnesota ERA amends the state constitution to determine what laws are acceptable to state legislators to pass or enforce. Peterson said the abortion and gender expression language was intended to prevent the state from banning abortion or gender-affirming care.

___

Trisha Ahmed is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a national nonprofit service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercover issues. Follow her on X, formerly on Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15