CTA name: Get the Equal Rights Amendment bills a hearing in the MN Senate!

SF0730 (HF2026)

Background:

Did you know there isn’t an Amendment to either the MN or the U.S. Constitution that specifically prohibits discriminationon on the basis of sex or gender?

If you didn't, you’re not alone - 76% of the population thinks we already have an Equal Rights Amendment and 97% of the country believes we should! (https://www.eramn.org/ )

The ERA bills currently in the MN Legislature would help make equal rights a reality.

What exactly do these 3 bills do?

SF850 (HF726) would add an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Minnesota Constitution by getting an Equal Rights Amendment on the Minnesota ballot for the November 8, 2022 state wide election.

SF730 (HF2026) The required 38 states have now ratified the ERA to put it in the U.S. Constitution -- but Congress needs to remove the arbitrary deadline that was placed on it in the 1970's. SF730 would pass a resolution memorializing Congress to remove the extra-textual time limit for ratification of the amendment by the states.

SF2731 (HF2847) would require a review of Minnesota Statutes and Rules for compliance with the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The 3 House bills, HF726, HF2026 and HF2847 are working their way through the committees in the House.

However, none of the Senate versions of these 3 ERA bills have been granted a hearing in the Senate, neither last year nor this year. To get the ERA added to the Minnesota and the U.S. constitution, these bills must be heard in the Senate. At this point there are 3 main gatekeepers - Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller; and chairs of the 2 committees these bills must be heard in - Sen. Andrew Mathews and Sen. Warren Limmer.

Action:

Call the Gatekeepers - Senators Jeremy Miller, Andrew Mathews & Warren Limmer, - to request that they hear the 3 ERA bills, SF850, SF730, SF2731!

Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller (Republican, District 28)

Call (651) 296-5649 & email: sen.jeremy.miller@senate.mn

If you know someone in Sen. Miller’s district, ask them to contact him, too.

Senator Andrew Mathews (Republican, District 15), chair of the Senate Civil Law and Data Practices Policy Committee that needs to hold a hearing on the ERA bills. Call (651) 296-8075 & email: sen.andrew.matthews@senate.mn to request he gives the ERA bills a hearing in his committee.

If you know someone in Sen. Mathews’ district, ask them to contact him, too.

Senator Warren Limmer (Republican, District 34) chairs the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee that needs to hold a hearing on the ERA bills. Call (651) 296-2159 & email: sen.warren.limmer@senate.mn to request he gives the ERA bills a hearing in his committee.

If you know someone who lives in Sen .Limmer’s district, ask them to contact him.

Sample Script:

“Hi,

I’m _______ from ___________ and I am contacting you to request that the Senator hold hearings for the following Equal Rights Amendment bills as soon as possible - SF850, SF730, SF2731. It’s time that Minnesota recognizes equal rights for all in our founding Constitution document.

(If you have a personal story about what a difference the ERA would make in your life if it was passed, add this here.)

Thank you for your time and I appreciate your consideration of this critical issue.”

For more on the ERA and the difference it would make:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/13/politics/equal-rights-amendment-era-explained/index.html

For more on the bills passage in the House, see this: https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/SessionDaily/Story/17041 - or to listen to the House committee hearing - http://ww2.house.leg.state.mn.us/audio/mp3ls92/jud020122.mp3)

And this - https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/sessiondaily/Story/17187

Created by MN-LegAction with help from ERA MN.