The Minnesota legislature is in its final month of regular session, with budget bills not yet ready to go to the governor. But it is clear from all the advancing bills that the legislature has focused entirely on cuts as the path to erasing the $5 billion deficit.
Governor Dayton has clearly indicated that he is seeking a budget solution with a mix of cuts and revenue increases. Neither budget will avoid consequences for many communities, and cuts may well have short and long term impacts on justice and equity in our state.
Human RightsOne specific consequence of an all-cuts approach is clear: the Legislature has proposed at least a 50% cut in the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) budget. As Louis King, Summit Academy CEO and HIRE Minnesota co-chair,
says in this short video from a Capitol presentation of a letter urging funding, "MDHR defends the rights of Minnesotans across the state: women, the disabled, gays and lesbians, people of color, people 51 and over," and HIRE is standing strong with the governor for full funding of MDHR.
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MUUSJA and over 30 other community organizations and hundreds of individuals signed on to this important letter. And we urge our MUUSJA members and friends to plan to attend an
important community meeting with MDHR Commissioner Kevin Lindsey on May 26th. In all likelihood, there will be a special session, and MDHR's budget will need defending right through the May 23rd legislative deadline and beyond. Join us on May 26th -- our state must continue to work for the rights of all who live here.
Constitutional AmendmentsWhile you might not hear legislators say this, it certainly seems that one way to get Minnesotans to pay a little less attention to the impacts of budget cuts is to create a hot-button social issue campaign. The Legislature is actively moving bills that will place a constitutional amendment on the 2012 state ballot to permanently bar same-sex marriage -- to deny a minority group equal protection of the law in our state's founding document.
MUUSJA will be working hard to mobilize our UU congregations and allies to oppose this amendment. We're available to congregations and eager to help strategize local responses and to connect UUs across Minnesota who want to stand up for LGBT people and for basic fairness.
We are also tracking the possibility of a constitutional amendment to require photo ID at the polls. As as a study we co-authored with Citizens for Election Integrity MN
clearly shows, this is a solution in search of a problem. We oppose placing barriers to this fundamental right of democracy and will keep our members and congregations apprised of movement on voter ID.
How You Can HelpAttend one or more of the events in our calendar below. Call or write to the governor or your legislator. (We can give you a few "talking points" on several of our key issues -- just
e-mail us for info.)
Stay up to date on current events by checking
our Facebook page. Events are unfolding rapidly, and to avoid crowding your e-mail with frequent alerts, we're posting information almost every day via this social network.
"Like" us if you can, but you don't have to be on Facebook to stay current! Just visit our MUUSJA web site regularly - all our Facebook news is available to everyone on our home page.
If you haven't renewed your membership,
your renewal can help us stay financially strong and focused on justice. If you've joined or renewed in the past year, an
additional gift now can magnify your impact!
And, you can - help spread the word about our work for justice!
Ralph Wyman
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MUUSJA Director/Organizer
612-998-6624
Sunday, May 22
