ST. PAUL, Minn. — On International Women’s Day Monday, March 8, 2017, ERA Minnesota (ERAMN) hosts ERA Day of Action at the State Capitol in conjunction with #WomensMarchMN. This is part of a national push known as “A Day Without A Woman” designed to send a resounding message to our leaders that “Women’s Rights are Human Rights!”
An ERA press conference will be held in the Capitol Press Conference Room B-971 at 11 a.m. to discuss ERAMN’s legislative priorities.
“Wage discrimination, domestic violence, international women’s rights, rape & sexual assault, female poverty, pregnancy discrimination, female incarceration and the law all tie together to thwart women’s progress,” said Betty Folliard, President of ERAMN; “and an Equal Rights Amendment embedded in our Constitution will address all these issues.”
“The absence of an ERA demonstrates a double-standard in our laws: one level of strict scrutiny for everything that is named in the constitution as a protected class such as religion, country of origin, and race; then a lower standard of scrutiny known as intermediate scrutiny is assigned to issues affecting women because discrimination on the basis of gender or sex is not named in our Constitution,” said Folliard.
“It’s a simple matter of equal access to justice in America”, said Rosemary Rocco, longtime women’s rights activist and an ERAMN organizer of this ERA Day of Action.
Currently there are 6 bills in the Minnesota House and Senate: a resolution to Congress to remove the deadline on the ERA, and a Minnesota ERA to the state constitution. In addition, there are ERA bills at the federal level and in several other states, including Nevada which looks poised this year to be the first state in 35 years to ratify the ERA.
ERAMN 2017 STATE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
The ERA 3-State Strategy Resolution to Congress:
SF229 – a resolution memorializing Congress to remove the deadline on the ERA with chief author Senator Sandy Pappas.HF356 – the companion bill to remove the sunset on the ERA with chief author Representative Rena Moran.
The Minnesota State ERA Constitutional Amendment:
SF224 –a constitutional amendment providing gender equality under the law with chief author Senator Richard Cohen.HF189 – the companion bill proposing a constitutional amendment providing gender equality under the law with chief author Representative Ilhan Omar; andSF101 – a state constitutional amendment providing gender equality under the law with chief author Senator Scott Dibble.HF313 – a state constitutional amendment providing gender equality under the law with chief author Representative Frank Hornstein.
For more info, go to www.eramn.org.
