ST. PAULO, Minnesota – Passionate supporters and opponents of a far-reaching Equal Rights Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution gathered at the State Capitol on Monday ahead of crucial votes aimed at putting it on the 2026 ballot.
The amendment would guarantee some of the nation’s broadest protections for abortion and LGBTQ+ rights if it were approved by both chambers this session and then by voters in two years. Anti-abortion activists and conservative religious groups are campaigning to defeat it, but Democrats have enough seats to pass what has been a top party priority.
Dozens of green-clad ERA supporters holding signs reading “I AM AN EQUAL VOTER” and “You Belong Here” with a rainbow flag design sang in chorus outside the House Chamber ahead of a session that was expected to last until night. Opponents of the ERA rallied alongside them, wearing red shirts and holding red “STOP ERA” signs.
The wording of the amendment would prohibit the State from discriminating against anyone on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability or sex – including gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. It does not include the word “abortion,” but it must be protected by the State’s prohibition on discriminating against a person “who makes and carries out decisions on all matters relating to one’s own pregnancy or decision to become or remain pregnant.”
The Reverend Doug Donley, pastor of University Baptist Church in Minneapolis, appeared in rainbow colors, holding a pro-ERA sign. Trans people “have always been part of the church. Many times they have had to hide the reality of who they are,” Donley said. “The Church should be a place where people can fully be who they are.”
His sister, Trish Donley, a retired nurse-midwife in St. Paul, said she knows what can happen if someone is denied a timely abortion in a health crisis.
“People can bleed to death. People can get uterine ruptures, fallopian tube ruptures. It’s just not right for someone else to decide that,” she said.
Placing red signs around the rotunda, David Mennicke, a music professor in St. Paul, wore a red shirt that said “NO CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES to killing unborn babies.”
“A child in the womb is a human being at an early stage of development,” Mennicke said. The ERA “would enshrine in the constitution that this child is not worthy of life and has no rights. I am speaking out for the rights of those who have no voice.”
His wife, Katherine Mennicke, a retired special education teacher, said the types of children she worked with are often targets for abortion. “I can’t support that – because I know them and I love them. And they have wonderful things to contribute.”
Before the debate, Republicans proposed 17 changes to the ERA to try to mitigate its impact. But Democrats control the House 70-64 and Democratic Majority Leader Jamie Long of Minneapolis said he had the votes to stop them and pass the proposal.
“Minnesotans believe in justice. They believe in equality. They oppose discrimination,” Long told reporters. “These are all core, fundamental values that we hold dear. And today, we will ensure that these values are not only protected by our law, but also by our Constitution.”
Democrats hold just a one-seat majority in the Senate, which approved an ERA proposal last year that did not include explicit protections for abortion rights. This time, the House author, Democratic Rep. Kaohly Her of St. Paul, said his supporters hope the Senate simply accepts the House’s language so that no negotiations are needed to resolve the differences.
Opponents of the ERA have already launched a $1 million advertising campaign and organized a rally that drew hundreds of people to the Capitol last Wednesday. In press conferences last week, they said the amendment misleadingly glosses over how it would ensure Minnesota has no abortion restrictions.
They also said it would violate religious freedom by not including people of faith as a protected class. And they said it could force people to endorse practices that violate their deepest beliefs.
“This promotes moral progressivism by allowing the sexual revolution to destroy the religious beliefs of Minnesotans,” the Rev. Steven Lee, pastor of Northern Church in Mounds View, told reporters.
Long and Her disputed that on Monday, saying both the state and federal constitutions already protect religion.
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Trisha Ahmed is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15
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