Minnesota Democrats say they plan to bring back the Equal Rights Amendment when the state legislative session starts in January 2027, aiming to finally ask voters whether to write sex, race and gender identity protections into the state constitution. The push follows the DFL's expanded majority after the 2026 midterms, a shift that supporters hope will succeed where past attempts have stalled for decades.
University of Minnesota constitutional law professor Jill Hasday joined MPR News's Minnesota Now with Nina Moini to explain what passing the amendment would actually mean for the state. The proposed measure would ask Minnesota voters to amend the state constitution, and backers say it includes protections for race, sex and gender identity, according to the MPR News program hosted by Moini and reported with Alanna Elder.
A Decades-Long Fight Resumes
Democrats have introduced some version of the Equal Rights Amendment dozens of times at the Minnesota Legislature, per the same MPR News report. The measure came close to passing in 2024, when the DFL held only a slim majority, but it never crossed the finish line. Now, with Democrats holding a wider majority following the 2026 midterms, supporters believe the odds have shifted in their favor.
That 2024 effort ran into trouble when a planned Minnesota House floor vote was sidetracked by prolonged debate over other bills, as MPR News reported at the time. The Minnesota Senate had already approved a different version of the bill the year before, but both chambers would need to approve identical wording before any amendment could go in front of voters, the outlet noted. Opposition was organized, too: the anti-abortion group Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life launched a seven-figure ad campaign aimed at blocking the measure in the Legislature.
What the Bill's Text Actually Says
A bill tied to the effort, SF 473, states in part that “All persons shall be guaranteed equal rights under the laws of this state,” according to an excerpt from the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. The 2024 version of the proposal, as described by MPR News, would have asked voters whether they support barring discrimination based on a person's race, class, sex and gender identity. Under the Minnesota Constitution, a proposed amendment becomes part of the constitution if a majority of all electors voting at that election vote to ratify it, per the Revisor of Statutes.
Earlier this year, Hasday testified before the Minnesota Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee in support of adding the Equal Rights Amendment to the constitution, according to a University of Minnesota Law School account of the hearing. The committee went on to vote in favor of SF 473, a bill the law school said would put the Minnesota Equal Rights Amendment before voters in November. From there, the bill was set to move to the Senate Rules Committee for consideration before any trip to the floor. Hasday holds the titles of Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Centennial Professor in Law at the university.
Advocates Point to Shifting Political Ground
Megan Peterson spoke at a press conference Thursday, arguing that rights have disappeared and that freedom and bodily autonomy face attacks across the country, according to the MPR News program. She said statutory protections can be repealed with a single vote and argued that rights should not depend on who holds state offices or sits on the courts.
The renewed push also comes against the backdrop of this month's election results. Unofficial figures reported by MPR News showed Democrats potentially reaching 75 seats in the Minnesota House and as many as 39 in the Senate, though the outlet noted recounts could still affect the final totals. The outlet also reported that Amy Klobuchar's election as governor would return the state to full DFL control of the governor's office, House and Senate. An image accompanying the MPR News report, credited to Ben Hovland in a 2025 file photo, depicts attendees rallying in support of the Equal Rights Amendment at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, the site of a rally held Tuesday, January 14, 2025.
