This week House Republicans sent legislation restoring religious liberty to the governor's desk with a unanimous vote off the House floor. Last year Democrats removed the religious exemption from a portion of the Minnesota Human Rights Act when they created a new definition of ‘sexual identity.’ This language originally introduced by my Republican colleague, Representative Niska, restores that religious exemption. It took time to resolve the issue, but in the end the legislature rightly prioritized individual religious liberty. Thankfully, we addressed this issue before it did any more damage to our religious communities. I extend my heartfelt thanks to our faith community members, their dedication and commitment to justice have resulted in a just outcome.

Next week will kick off with what is likely to be a contentious debate as both the National Popular Vote compact and the new Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) come to the House floor on Monday. The national popular vote bill would give Minnesota's 10 electoral college votes to whichever presidential candidate receives the most individual votes. This completely usurps the original intent of the Electoral College and diminishes our voice in selecting the leader of our country. The founders of our country wisely saw how a direct election for the office of president would centralize power in a select few most population dense cities that would overshadow the voices of Americans who chose life away from that hustle and bustle.

To quote some of my fellow Republicans, "This is not your grandmothers ERA." The proposed language in the Equal Rights Amendment should be highly concerning to every Minnesotan. By muddying the waters around gender and biological sex this legislation will destroy women's spaces and eliminate many opportunities women have fought for. Women deserve to be treated as equal members of society. Legislating obtuse definitions based outside of reality and biological fact is not the way to achieve that.