Minnesota Equal Rights Amendment fails in acrimonious end to legislative session

Minnesota lawmakers failed to pass a state Equal Rights Amendment that would have enshrined protections for abortion and LGBTQ+ rights in the state Constitution as the 2024 legislative session came to an acrimonious end.

The Minnesota ERA was the one of the biggest casualties as partisan rancor, lengthy debates and filibusters were fueled by the continued participation of a Democratic senator who was arrested on a burglary charge. Democrats, who hold just a one-vote majority in the Senate, needed her vote to pass any legislation that lacked bipartisan support.

A compromise to legalize sports betting also failed to cross the finish line by the midnight Sunday deadline. So did a public infrastructure borrowing package known as a bonding bill that was supposed to be the centerpiece of the session. Neither could pass without at least some GOP support. But Republicans who said they were frozen out were unwilling to supply the votes needed for the 60% supermajorities required for new debt unless Democrats dropped the ERA. And enough Democrats were opposed to sports betting, so that some GOP votes were essential.

The ERA would have prohibited discrimination against anyone on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability or sex — including gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. Authors opted not to include the word “abortion,” which critics called a deceptive move. The text instead would have protected the right to be “making and effectuating decisions about all matters relating to one’s own pregnancy or decision whether to become or remain pregnant.”

But the amendment's authors didn't unveil the language until three weeks before adjournment. Anti-abortion and conservative religious groups