Minnesota lawmakers launched their debate Monday on far-reaching legislation to amend the constitution to protect abortion and LGBTQ rights.

The Minnesota Equal Rights Amendment would be among the nation’s most expansive protections of abortion and LGBTQ rights if it is approved by lawmakers this session and then by voters on the 2026 ballot.

MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS INITIATE DEBATE ON PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE BILL

Over 100 people crammed into the legislative hearing room Monday. Supporters wore green clothes and buttons that said “ERA YES” while opponents wore bright red shirts that said “NO CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT to kill unborn babies.”

Betty Folliard, whose group ERA Minnesota has been pushing for such a measure since 2014, testified in support, as did members of Gender Justice — an advocacy organization for gender equity — and OutFront Minnesota, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group.

“This isn’t just about reproductive justice,” Folliard said in an interview. “It’s also about pay inequity, historic stereotypes and discrimination that keep on being overlooked, generation to generation to generation.”

The amendment’s wording would prohibit the state from discriminating against anyone on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability or sex — including gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. The state also couldn’t discriminate over a person “making and effectuating decisions about all matters relating to one’s own pregnancy or decision whether to become or remain pregnant.”

Minnesota already has a non-discrimination law, the Human Rights Act, that applies to individuals, businesses, schools and other institutions. The constitutional amendment would apply to state government, and would protect certain laws — including recent ones that have made Minnesota a refuge for out-of-state people seeking an abortion and gender-affirming care — from being repealed by future lawmakers and administrations.

Carrena Falls testified in opposition. She said she’s a college student in the Twin Cities who is “repulsed” by the proposal, which would “enshrine a radical abortion agenda into our Constitution.”

Others who testified against the proposal included members of Minnesota Family Council, a Christian advocacy group; Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, an anti-abortion group; and Minnesota Catholic Conference, a policy organization for the Catholic Church.

Rebecca Delahunt, director of public policy at Minnesota Family Council, said she’s concerned the ERA would grant children a constitutional right to gender-affirming care.

Republican House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth said she is “very disappointed” that Democrats developed the proposal without Republican input. Her motion to submit the proposal to questioning in other House committees failed along party lines.

Democrat House Majority Leader Jamie Long’s motion advancing the proposal to the House floor succeeded with a 9-5 vote along party lines.

“These rights are so incredibly important,” Long said. “We know that Legislatures can change, and we know the courts can change. But the Constitution is the one thing that we know will stay in effect.”

If approved by the Legislature, voters in 2026 would be asked: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to say that all persons shall be guaranteed equal rights under the laws of this state, and shall not be discriminated against on account of race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, or sex, including pregnancy, gender, and sexual orientation?”

If approved, the amendment would take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.

Last year, a different Minnesota ERA proposal passed in the Senate but did not get a final vote in the House.

Democratic Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, a chief author of both proposals, said several Democrats wanted the ERA to do more to protect transgender and reproductive rights. She said recent attacks on transgender people and the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court have been top of mind for many Democrats.

Democrats have only narrow majorities — their margin is just one vote in the Senate — so they need the support of most in their party if Republicans oppose the legislation. If placed on the ballot, the constitutional amendment would need to be approved by a majority of all voters casting ballots, not just a majority of those voting on the question.

With the economy a key issue in the ongoing presidential campaigns and Michigan an electoral swing state, the major party contenders and their surrogates are repeatedly touting their policy initiatives to voters in the Wolverine state.

That includes Vice President Kamala Harris, who is on what the White House calls an “Economic Opportunity Tour” of states nationwide.

Harris told a packed house at Detroit’s Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History that the Biden Administration is increasing its investment in one of its signature goals, increasing domestic electric vehicle supply chains.

Critics like former President Donald Trump regularly complain the push for electric vehicles will cost U.S. autoworkers their jobs and force consumers into buying less-expensive EVs made by Chinese manufacturers.

But Harris says the Biden Administration is providing more than $100 million specifically to help re-tool U.S. factories and train workers in electric vehicle technology.

“This investment will help to keep our auto supply chains here in America,” Harris said. “(That) strengthens America’s economy overall and (will) keep those jobs here in Detroit.”

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Energy Secretary and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm added that the Biden Administration has targeted infrastructure funds to help ensure there are enough charging stations for those driving an electric vehicle.

The result, Granholm predicted, will be a supply chain that delivers profits for small business owners in Michigan and avoids any reliance on China.

“We’re pulling that back. In Michigan you’re seeing all of these battery suppliers creating all of the components of that battery pack being made inside of Michigan. It’s super exciting. And that means more good-paying jobs,” Granholm said.

President Biden talks electric vehicles at the Detroit Auto Show »

Harris also used her visit to the majority-African American city of Detroit to try and firm-up support in the Black community.

The Vice President told the crowd at the Wright Museum that the current White House has the backs of Black voters. She said the Biden Administration is aiding African Americans in everything from building wealth and good credit scores to forgiving student loan debt.

“Since taking office we have seen record Black small business growth,” Harris said. “We have created more than 2.5 million new jobs for black workers. And since 2019, Black wealth is up 60 percent. President Biden and I are clear: These are not only our accomplishments, they are yours.”

While Detroit remains a Democratic bastion, Michigan is still a political battleground, part of the so-called “Blue Wall” of midwestern states Biden likely needs to win to retain the White House.

Michigan is commanding attention from both major presidential contenders. Trump held a rally at an airport hangar in Saginaw County last week and is scheduled to headline a conservative organization’s upcoming convention in Detroit. Biden is set to address the Detroit branch of the NAACP on May 19.

Anyone driving part the blue Gothic Revival gatehouse at Calvary Cemetery – resting place of Milwaukee founder Solomon Juneau and many other notables – can attest to its sorry state.

But now, the wood frame structure, built in 1897 to designs by Erhard Brielmaier – architect of many Catholic buildings in the city, including Basilica of St. Josaphat and the now-demolished Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi in St. Francis, among others – may get a lifeline.

On Monday, May 13 at 3 p.m. at City Hall, the City of Milwaukee’s Historic Preservation Commission will discuss a plan by the Archdiocese to stabilize the structure at 5503 W. Bluemound Rd.

The plan calls for replacing the leaking roof and flashing; boarding up the doors and windows to secure the gatehouse; supporting and boarding up the screen porch area to keep out vandals and animals; winterizing the plumbing and heating; tuckpointing masonry as required and replacing missing masonry; replacing rotted downspouts that have been causing damage; and somewhat more vaguely, repair, “or rebuilding of building elements to prevent further deterioration or damage.”

The proposed work is to be done by Kelmann Restoration.

The gatehouse – which was not yet built when Juneau’s body was interred at Calvary in 1866 – is built over the main entrance to the cemetery and served as the cemetery office.

It also has an attached residence for a cemetery groundskeeper and his family. The wood structure atop a raised stone foundation is capped with a bell tower.

“According to newspapers from 1897, ‘the residence consists of two stories and a basement. The basement is planned for store rooms and a laundry. On the first floor are offices, waiting rooms, and two private parlors. The second floor will contain three bedrooms’,” notes the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Architectural Inventory.

“After it was expanded, an additional room was added to the second floor. Currently, only the enclosed porch and the recently updated kitchen are used by the workmen of the cemetery. The first and second floors remain intact, though some carpet has been added. Almost all the original hardware, floors, and moldings are in place.”

Brielmaier, who was born in 1841 in Neufra near Rottweil, Württemberg, Germany, emigrated to the United States with his mother and siblings in 1850 to join his father, a carpenter, in Ohio.

Married in 1860, Brielmaier and his wife, Theresia Haag, moved their 13 children to Milwaukee in 1873 and he worked as a carpenter and sculptor, eventually becoming an architect.

With three of his sons, he launched Erhard Brielmaier & Sons Co., Architects, and in addition to churches and convents, they designed universities (including at Marquette), schools and hospitals (including at the Mayo Clinic) around the U.S. and in Canada. The firm even had a second office in Chicago.

The gatehouse is among Brielmaier’s most recognizable projects in Milwaukee. Let’s hope this new work helps keep it standing long into the future.