ST. PAUL – State Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, said House Republicans took a major step toward restoring religious freedom which Minnesota Democrats stripped from faith-based organizations last year.
The House on Tuesday approved a variation of Republican legislation, amending the Minnesota Human Rights Act to re-establish protections for religious entities against discrimination claims. The bill unanimously passed the Senate earlier in the day and, with the House also providing unopposed approval, it now is on Gov. Tim Walz’s desk for enactment.
“It’s great to see the religious freedoms enshrined in our Constitution prevailed on this issue,” Swedzinski said. “Hats off to all the people in our religious community who came to the Capitol, voiced their concerns and participated in the process of creating legislation that received overwhelming bipartisan support. It’s a good day for religious freedom in Minnesota.”
Swedzinski said this move was necessary due to HRA legislation Democrats enacted in 2023, eliminating religious protections that had been in place since 1993. Before last year, when gender identity was included (or subsumed) within the HRA 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.
Swedzinski said he is confident the courts ultimately would have ruled the change Democrats made last year unconstitutional. He also indicated he’s glad it didn’t get that far and that religious institutions can continue making decisions consistent with their mission and values.
“It was important to resolve this issue now, not just to rightly uphold our constitutionally guaranteed religious freedoms, but also to protect taxpayers from suffering unnecessary expenses from a major court case,” Swedzinski said. “I’m just glad Democrats finally recognized their overreach on this issue and joined Republicans in passing a bipartisan solution.”
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