ST. PAUL – State Rep. Mike Wiener, R-Long Prairie, said Republicans have taken a major step toward restoring religious freedom which Minnesota Democrats stripped from faith-based organizations last year.
The House on Tuesday approved legislation pertaining to the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) 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 overwhelming approval, it is now on Gov. Tim Walz’s desk for enactment.
“Tuesday's vote was a victory for religious freedom here in Minnesota,” said Wiener. “Despite this good news, it is still concerning to see how legislative Democrats showed a complete disregard for religious liberty when they made this change in law last year. Nevertheless, I am glad to see that we have addressed this injustice and restored these important religious protections for all Minnesotans.”
Wiener said this move was necessary due to MHRA legislation that Democrats enacted in 2023, that stripped religious protections that had been in place since 1993. 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.
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