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Minnesota Trans Lawmaker Wanted To Remove Anti-Pedophile Clause From Human Rights Statute, Cries Victim As Colleagues Move To Protect Children

   DailyWire.com
Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via Getty Images

Minnesota lawmakers explicitly excluded pedophiles from the state’s human rights statutes after one of their colleagues suggested loosening language that exempted adults attracted to children from enjoying legal protections under the law.

Minnesota State Rep. Leigh Finke, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and the first self-identified transgender in the Minnesota Legislature, introduced an amendment in his Take Pride Act that would have altered the definition of “sexual orientation” in the Minnesota Human Rights Act such that a provision clarifying that the term “does not include a physical or sexual attachment to children by an adult” would have been omitted. The move, in other words, would have allowed adults who claim attraction to children as part of their “sexual orientation” to be protected from discrimination under the law.

After the proposed amendment made national headlines, however, the Minnesota House unanimously voted on Wednesday to amend the Minnesota Human Rights Act in order to explicitly clarify that “the physical or sexual attachment to children by an adult is not a protected class” under the law. Minnesota State Rep. Harry Niska, a member of the Republican Party who introduced the clarification, said the unanimous vote was a “glimmer of common sense.”

Finke, a biological male who claims to be a woman, later asserted on social media that the original amendment would have changed “nothing about sexual orientation” and was misrepresented by the media. “Folks could have listened, but they didn’t want to,” the lawmaker added. “They instead used the opportunity to amplify the hatred of trans people. There was never a controversy, but it didn’t matter. The lie exploded into a whirlwind of hate intended to hurt me.”

Minnesota Family Council CEO John Helmberger told The Daily Wire that the organization appreciated the unanimous vote and expressed hope that both parties would work to protect children from exploitation. “We’re also extremely grateful that this amendment was adopted unanimously; that’s a great expression of the desire of legislators in both parties to protect children from exploitation,” he remarked. “However, we wish it hadn’t come to this point; we wish that the authors of this bill would have realized the potentially extremely dangerous direction this legislation would lead, and corrected it before it got to the House floor.”

Helmberger added that some lawmakers had told their constituents that the Minnesota Family Council was “misleading” the public on the dangers from the loophole for pedophiles offered by the initial amendment. “Yesterday’s unanimous vote shows that our concerns were grounded in fact, and Minnesota legislators realized that,” he continued. “We hope this is the start of a new bipartisan drive to protect Minnesota’s kids from exploitation.”

Democrats won control of the Minnesota State Senate last year, enabling lawmakers to pass a ban on so-called conversion therapy, defined as any measure “intended to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity” or “reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender.” Lawmakers also approved a measure requiring Minnesota to protect individuals who violate “a law of another state” to procure an abortion.

Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz endorsed both bills on Thursday, as well as legislation which will “protect access to gender-affirming health care.” Finke said that the enactment of the three bills marked “an amazing, celebratory day in the movement for a more just future.”

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