This week, the Minnesota Senate passed a bill that would put the so-called Equal Rights Amendment on the 2024 ballot. This measure now heads to the Minnesota House.
As many have recognized, the ERA sounds like a good idea on the surface - after all, who doesn’t like equal rights?
But the rationale for the ERA in this day and age becomes much more confusing once you realize that discrimination on the basis of sex, race, or national origin is already illegal under federal and Minnesota law.
It’s important to understand that the 2023 Minnesota ERA bears only a superficial resemblance to the original federal ERA.
With the legislative session in its final weeks, focus has turned to omnibus bills as they make their way through conference committees, to the floor of each chamber of the Legislature, and then to the Governor’s desk. One such omnibus bill (the Judiciary omnibus bill – HF2890) includes the “Take Pride Act” (HF1655) which is being presented as an update to Minnesota’s Human Rights Act. This “update,” which equates gender identity with biological sex, would be a step backward for Minnesota. Among other things, it would prevent nonprofits that work with children and youth from upholding sex distinctions in staffing decisions.
This is the same “Take Pride Act” that drew national attention for attempting to remove language from Minnesota law stating that attraction to children is not a protected sexual orientation. Fortunately, lawmakers listened to the voices of Minnesotans who spoke out and unanimously agreed to an amendment to protect children. However, that amendment appears to be missing from the Judiciary omnibus bill as of May 12, 2023.
Just to be very clear: removing language stating that pedophilia is not a sexual orientation is by far the most dangerous part of this legislation, but even with the most harmful aspect removed, this Act still wouldn’t be good for Minnesota.
