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Hello from St. Paul,
Republicans have taken a major step toward restoring religious freedom which Minnesota’s majority party stripped from faith-based organizations last year.
On May 7, the legislature approved legislation pertaining to the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) to re-establish protections for religious entities against discrimination claims.
We are one step away from saving this religious freedom. It's a small victory, but so critical for those whose religious beliefs are important to them and the church they attend. Under this provision, churches would once again be free to hire people that align with their spiritual beliefs.
This move was necessary due to MHRA legislation that the majority party enacted in 2023, that stripped religious protections that had been in place since 1993. Before last year, when gender identity was included 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. The approved legislation would return that exemption.
The bill is now on Gov. Tim Walz’s desk for enactment.
This may not be the only religious topic lawmakers discuss before session ends on May 20. You should know about majority party legislation labeled as the Equal Rights Amendment. In purposely confusing language, it would ask voters to amend the state’s Constitution to allow abortions up to 40 weeks. It is scheduled for a House floor vote next week, and I will be sure to keep you informed of the bill’s progress.
HOUSE EMS BILL PRIORITIZES ANOTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCY
Our ambulance service teams in rural Minnesota need help. In many cases they are dealing with outdated equipment and are having difficulties finding people to hire. So rather than address these problems within the emergency medical services (EMS) sector, House Democrats have chosen to spend a bunch of money on a new state agency.
You read that correctly. Instead of spending money to help the people who are in the trenches – literally helping people stay alive – the Democrat solution is to expand the bureaucracy, funding new fulltime employees there so it can overregulate EMS with minimal checks and balances. It’s a horrible, government first solution that falls drastically short on the emergency aid that EMS across the state desperately needs.
LOCAL VISITORS
This week I was pleased to meet with constituents from the Fifth Judicial District Drug Court (serving Rock-Nobles and Pipestone-Murray counties).
 The visitors shared many positive aspects of this drug court program! Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Mother’s Day!
Marj
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