Minnesota’s Take Pride Act, which was signed into law by Governor Tim Walz in May of 2023, included a section that redefined the term “sexual orientation” to include pedophiles in the state’s Human Rights Act.
Minnesota’s Human Rights Act, which was signed into law in 1993 adding sexual orientation as a protected class, included a caveat that stated, “‘Sexual orientation’ does not include a physical or sexual attachment to children by an adult.”
Fox News reported that the Take Pride Act, which was signed into law by Walz, was first introduced by transgender Rep. Leigh Finke.
During a Senate debate hearing of the bill, Sen. Nathan Wesenberg (R-Little Falls), urged lawmakers to vote against the bill “lest the people of our state come to believe that the majority of this body supports protecting pedophilia.”
Wesenberg’s plea was not enough, and the Senate passed the bill, and Walz ultimately signed the “Take Pride Act” into law.
Per The Star Tribune:
GOP lawmakers leveled a heavy accusation at the DFL majority during public safety debates in recent days, accusing them of protecting pedophiles — adults who are sexually attracted to children.
A disproportionate amount of debate in the House and Senate over the 500-plus page, $3.5 billion public safety bill focused on the removal of one sentence from the state’s Human Rights Act (HRA): “Sexual orientation does not include a physical or sexual attachment to children by an adult.”
Rep. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, said some may now “interpret the HRA to deem pedophilia as a protected class in Minnesota, which prevents them from being denied employment, housing, education and more.”
Earlier this session, Niska, a lawyer, added language to the bill that read: “The physical or sexual attachment to children by an adult is not a protected class under this chapter….”
But that sentence was removed from the bill during House-Senate conference committee negotiations and wasn’t in the final version of the bill sent to Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday.
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