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With zero Republicans on the conference committee and no public input the Public Safety Conference Committee added both Red Flag Law and Universal Background Check provisions with just 14 minutes notice from when the amendments were posted to when the partisan conference committee adopted them. In my first term in the House of Representatives, I am absolutely shocked at how brazen Democrats in the legislature have been with their disregard of the process.
We hear consistently during orientation how the House of Representatives is ?the people?s house? yet clearly my colleagues have forgotten this foundational lesson as they shut out a large portion of Minnesotans from this important debate. These two gun control provisions have received bipartisan opposition throughout this session, yet have remained on the Democrat?s extreme wish list of legislative priorities. As I have throughout this legislative session, I will stand up against these infringements on our second amendment rights. While public safety should be I high priority for our state, I cannot support a bill that includes these encroachments on law-abiding citizen?s rights.
In the Judiciary portion of the omnibus, even more bad policy changes were made with Republicans completely shut out of the process. My colleague, Rep. Niska had an amendment which clarified that pedophilia is not protected under the guise of sexuality in the human rights act. This amendment passed unanimously on the house floor yet Democrats removed it in conference committee. This creates a massive gap in our statutes that could be used as an argument to define pedophilia as a sexuality which it clearly is not.
Another bad policy in the Judiciary portion of this bill is the creation of a database for perceived bias.? Though the language surrounding the intent of this database was watered down in conference committee, the funding did not change.? On the House Floor, the author of this provision was asked what could qualify as perceived bias.? Examples such as stating the origins of COVID were from a lab in China and wearing an ?I love JK Rowling? shirt were said to qualify as reportable and recordable offenses.? This is a huge infringement on our first amendment rights.
You can view our press conference on the bill here:
 One provision that got added to the Higher Education Omnibus as it made its way through conference committee was free tuition for students whose families make less than $80K per year. While a means to higher education is important I am disappointed in the way this is being implemented. This shifts a huge amount of cost onto Minnesota taxpayers and even more concerningly covers some of the cost by eliminating the grants program for high-need industries. A more targeted and nuanced approach could have been far more effective than just throwing lots of money at the problem of ballooning higher education costs.
 Happy Mother?s Day on Sunday, hopefully you will be making time with family to show your appreciation for all that our moms do. Whether with breakfast in bed or a nice dinner out, this is a day to celebrate and honor all the love, care, and sacrifices our moms have made for us. They are the backbone of our family, and we cannot thank them enough for everything they do. May your day be filled with joy, love, and relaxation.
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