ST. PAUL – Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature on Monday intensified their efforts to address an issue related to religious freedom. Democrats then put that project on indefinite hold.
The afternoon started with a news conference where dozens of religious leaders from around the state joined Republicans in calling for religious freedom to be restored in the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA), protecting religious organizations and faith-based schools against claims of gender identity discrimination.
Shortly thereafter, Democrats in the majority tabled a House Republican motion to bring forward legislation to make that happen. It was the third time this session Democrats had at least temporarily blocked a Republican attempt to restore religious freedom language to the MHRA, following committee votes in both the House and the Senate.
State Representative Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, said at least one faith-based school already is facing an employment complaint at the department of human rights because of the removal of the exemption.
"Religious freedom is a foundational value that our nation was founded on,” said Backer. “It is extremely concerning that Democrats refuse to join us in our efforts to simply return to the standard that Minnesota had in place from 1993-2023. Unfortunately, it appears that Democrats’ attacks on religious freedom are intentional, otherwise they would have already restored this important exemption to the state’s human rights act.”
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 House Republicans worked with religious leaders to craft H.F. 3926, which ensures religious organizations and faith-based schools can, among other things, hire teachers and ministers consistent with their mission and values.
It remains unclear when – or if – the Democrat-controlled House will revisit that bill.
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