Republicans Win with Religious Liberty 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. U of M asks for MORE MoneyThe University of Minnesota, like many public universities, receives funding from various sources including Minnesota taxpayers through appropriations in the Higher Education budget bill. With recent "protests" on the twin cities campus the university has now come to the legislature asking for even more taxpayer dollars to cover the costs of damage that these rioters have scarred on the face of this institution. Graffiti, broken infrastructure, and anti-American messages carved into stone; all with mounting clean-up costs. Our public universities should be a place for higher learning and a proving ground for new ideas. Instead, they've allowed radicals to craft a narrative that their destruction of public property is somehow protected speech. It is not. This double standard should not be allowed to stand, and the rising costs of these unchecked rioters should not be haphazardly passed onto the backs of hard-working Minnesotans. Democrats in Saint Paul of course want to send them this money along with all the other spending they have passed in this year's supplemental budget bills. Continuing their trend of irresponsible and unaffordable government. |