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Demuth




Dear Neighbor,

Just forwarding a press release I issued late yesterday afternoon regarding a religious freedom issue that has bubbled up at the Capitol. Thank you to all those who came to St. Paul to support this important cause.

Sincerely,

Lisa

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*Republican effort to support religious freedom*

*again met by Democrat resistance*

ST. PAUL ? Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature on Monday intensified their efforts to address an issue related to religious freedom. Democrats then put that project on indefinite hold.

The afternoon started with a press conference where dozens of religious leaders from around the state joined Republicans in calling for religious freedom to be restored in the Minnesota Human Rights Act, protecting religious organizations and faith-based schools against claims of gender identity discrimination.

Shortly thereafter, Democrats in the majority tabled a House Republican motion to bring forward legislation to make that happen. It was the third time this session Democrats had at least temporarily blocked a Republican attempt at restoring religious freedom language to the HRA, following committee votes in both the House and the Senate.

House Republican Leader Rep. Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said at least one faith-based school already is facing an employment complaint at the department of human rights because of the removal of the exemption.

?One of the cornerstones of our democracy is the principle of religious freedom, guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution,? Demuth said. ?Yet, despite these protections, we have seen an alarming rise in cases where individuals and organizations of all traditions face persecution because of their religious beliefs. Adding this religious exemption back into the Human Rights Act is about upholding the fundamental right of every citizen to live according to their faith without fear of punishment or retribution.?

Before last year, when gender identity was included (or subsumed) within the MHRA definition of sexual orientation, the still-existing religious exemption for sexual orientation covered gender identity claims as well.

When a new, separate definition of gender identity was created last year, there was no corresponding religious exemption added. This issue caused alarm among Minnesota?s faith community and House Republicans worked with religious leaders to craft?H.F. 3926 [ [link removed] ], which ensures religious organizations and faith-based schools can, among other things, hire teachers and ministers consistent with their mission and values. It remains unclear when ? or if ? the Democrat-controlled House will revisit that bill.

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State Rep. Lisa Demuth
223 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
St. Paul, MN 55155
[email protected]
(651) 296-4373







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