PRESS ADVISORY
For Immediate Release
Contact: Betty Folliard betty.folliard@gmail.com (612) 868-3511
Curtis Johnson Curtisrjohnson@hotmail.com (651) 983-0515
2.6.2024
ERA Minnesota Declares 2024 The Year of the ERA
Saint Paul – Activists and partner organizations from across the state will converge on the Minnesota Capitol Rotunda for #Day1forERA Rally on MONDAY, February 12, at 10 AM, the 1st day of Session, hosted by ERA Minnesota (ERAMN www.eramn.org).
Fresh off their recent success passing a federal resolution to Congress to enact the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ERAMN’s main thrust is to pass a robust Minnesota Ballot Initiative thru the Legislature this year, that reads:
Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to say that all persons shall be guaranteed equal rights under the laws of the state, and that the state shall not discriminate against any person on account of race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, or sex, including pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, reproductive freedom, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation?
Recent polls have shown that the majority of voters support the inclusive ERA.
“Our rights shouldn’t depend on whichever party is in power,” said ERAMN President Curtis Johnson; “that’s why they need to be clear in the constitution. We all deserve equal rights and protections. Everyone, no matter who they are or what they look like, deserves the same right to the same rights.”
“It’s way past time for Minnesota to embed Minnesota values into our constitution by adding an Equal Rights Amendment,” said ERAMN VP Kate Quinlan-Laird; “Our rights must not be left up to the whims of future legislators or courts: let the people vote on equality.”
Confirmed Speakers for the event are: Rep. Kristin Bahner – Federal ERA Resolution Chief Author; Bernie Burnham – Minnesota AFL-CIO President; Attorney General Keith Ellison – MN AG; Rev. Dr. Meghan Gage-Finn, Senior Associate Pastor – Westminster Presbyterian Church; Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, State ERA Chief Author; Sen. Mary Kunesh – State ERA Chief Author; Rep. Jamie Long, Minnesota House Majority Leader; Congresswoman Betty McCollum, CD4 U.S. House Member; Bishara Mohamed – Reviving Sisterhood Civic Engagement Manager; Sen. Sandy Pappas – Federal ERA Resolution Chief Author; Megan Peterson – Gender Justice Executive Director; Kat Rohn – OutFront Executive Director; Kelsey Waits – AAUW Minnesota Vice President of Public Policy;
Cynthia Wilson – NAACP Minneapolis President; and 4 Minnetonka High School Student Leaders on behalf of The League of Women Voters MN. Co-Sponsors of this event include: AAUW MN & AAUW Minneapolis, Equal Means Equal, ERA Coalition, Gender Justice, Generation Ratify, Indivisible MN, Edina Indivisible, Indivisible St. Paul, Roseville Indivisible, Chaska Indivisible, Indivisible North Metro, St. Croix Valley Indivisible; Island of Discarded Women, Jewish Community Action, League of Women Voters, MN AFL-CIO, MN NOW, NAACP – Minneapolis, National Council of Jewish Women – MN, OneMN.org, Outfront Minnesota, Reviving Sisterhood, Rock What You Got, Shattering Glass, UnRestrict Minnesota, Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, & Women’s March MN. ERA Minnesota is coalition of advocates & allied organizations dedicated to adding the Equal Rights Amendment into our state & federal constitutions. Founded in 2014.