Dear Neighbor,
Well, it’s official: Senate Democrats this week made it clear they agree with House Democrats and Gov. Tim Walz in their belief the state’s views trump your religious freedoms.
In the endless list of extreme positions Democrats have used their full power of the Capitol to push, this could very well turn into the most significant and radical infringement yet from the activist-driven majority.
In late February, House Democrats voted down a House Republican measure to restore a religious freedom provision that was deleted from state law last year. The issue resurfaced when the Senate amendment was voted down along party lines, just as when it was proposed in the House.
Senate Democrats had a chance to restore the law to our long-held consensus that religious communities in Minnesota have the autonomy to decide questions of faith. House Democrats, Senate Democrats and Gov. Walz had more than two weeks to take a step back, rethink their position and do what’s right for most Minnesotans. Instead, they only highlighted their position that your religious freedoms take a back seat to the state’s rule.
As mentioned in a recent newsletter, 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 Niska worked with religious leaders to craft an amendment to MHRA legislation S.F. 4292. House Democrats and Senate Democrats then voted to keep that language off the overriding bill.
We’ll see what happens with this bill from here, but I will continue advocating for the religious freedom provision to be re-established. These bad preliminary votes House and Senate Democrats took will not be the last word on this issue.
Public safety solutions
House Republicans conducted a press conference this week to call for hearings to take place as soon as possible for a series of several bills we have authored to support our law enforcement officers, hold criminals accountable and keep our communities safe. These bills have been specifically requested by our partners in law enforcement.
Our brave law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line to protect and serve us deserve to have the resources they need to do their jobs effectively. At the same time, we need to pass and uphold laws that crack down on crime, fully prosecute dangerous offenders and ensure the criminals are held accountable.
We know public safety should be one of the highest priorities of government. Hearings for our bills would allow a full public discussion of policy proposals that would uphold law and order here in Minnesota.
Meanwhile, the state budget enacted last year did include $300 million in one-time aid for law enforcement agencies. While I am pleased these dollars were provided for local law enforcement, Democrats restricted how this money can be used to the following areas:
- Community violence prevention and? intervention programs
- Community engagement
- Mental health crisis responses
- Victim? services
- Training programs
- First responder wellness
- Equipment related to fire, rescue, and? emergency services
- To pay other personnel or equipment costs
Tactical vehicles, for instance, do not qualify, even though we continue seeing instances where they could save lives. Neither does something as practical as improving lighting to increase safety.
One of the several bills House Republicans propose (H.F. 4837) would allow more flexibility in how public safety aid is used by local governments so they can meet their specific needs. Our citizens and law enforcement officers alike deserve no less and I am a co-author of this bill to provide more local control of these dollars.
I also am co-authoring H.F. 4866, a bill requiring county attorneys to disclose information regarding expert witnesses to peace officers in an officer-involved death incident. You may be able to see relevance to this bill in the situation that currently is making news in Hennepin County.
House Republicans also recently moved to declare urgency and act on a bill (H.F. 548) to increase the penalty for transferring a firearm to an ineligible person, aka, “straw man” purchases. Our move coincided with the recent news an indictment has been filed against someone who allegedly acted as a straw purchaser of the weapons used in the shooting of three first responders in Burnsville. Unfortunately, the House majority voted down our effort to take urgent action on this bill.
Have a good weekend and, as always, your feedback is welcome.
Sincerely,
Ben