Signs of Hope: Minnesota

This week’s theme—at least, my plan for its theme—is “Signs of Hope”, by which I don’t mean pie-in-the-sky thoughts and prayers, but things that people are actually doing to try to move the ball in what I personally believe is the right direction.

I spoke a bit about this topic in my weekly wrap up last week, but especially since it’s so fresh, I feel like talking about my current state of residence is a great place to begin on this week’s theme.

Now, before I begin, let me be clear: Minnesota is not without its problems, and more than one thing can be true. This is also the state where George Floyd was murdered by a police officer for the crime of being Black, and racism in policing—just as one example of the issues we still need to address—is a huge problem in this state, particularly in the Twin Cities. Like everything in the world, Minnesota is a work in progress, and there’s a lot of work to do.

However, progress is being made.

Right now, Minnesota is surrounded by states that, in the current political color spectrum, can be described as various shades of red. The Dakotas, surprising no one, have moved to restrict abortion and transgender treatment as rapidly as possible. Iowa has passed a gendered bathroom bill and restricts abortion at 21 weeks. Wisconsin already had an abortion law on the books from 1849 (that is not a typo) that restricts all abortion for any reason, that immediately came back into force after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

All of these states have legislatures controlled entirely by the GOP1. North and South Dakota, and Iowa, also have GOP governors. Wisconsin is an oddity, because its governorship is held by a Democrat, Tony Evers, whom the GOP legislature has done everything they can to disempower.

Minnesota, surrounded by all of this red…has a solid blue state government, with DFL2 control of both houses and all state offices; and has not, in 30 years, had a solid red one.3

Just like the red states around us, Minnesota is wasting no time pursuing the agenda its majorities were elected to pursue. Thus, while red states are outlawing abortion in various ways, Minnesota has declared itself a sanctuary state. It will not enforce the subpoena or judgement against any person who came to this state for reproductive health care, from a state where such care, and traveling for such care, is restricted. It also explicitly states law enforcement in Minnesota may not arrest individuals for violation of other states abortion restrictions, even if there is an outstanding warrant in that other state against them for such a violation4.

A similar law, passed slightly before it, makes similar provisions for individuals traveling to Minnesota to receive gender-affirming care in violation of their home-state’s restrictions. The language of this statute is particularly loud and clear:

A law of another state that authorizes a state agency to remove a child from the child's parent or guardian because the parent or guardian allowed the child to receive gender-affirming health care, as defined in section 543.23, paragraph (b), is against the public policy of this state and must not be enforced or applied in a case pending in a court in this state. A court order for the removal of a child issued in another state because the child's parent or guardian assisted the child in receiving gender-affirming care in this state must not be enforced in this state.5

Now, if you’re a student of history, this kind of law might look familiar to you, because it’s pretty close in intent to the Personal Liberty Laws passed in states like Massachusetts. Those laws basically forbade state authorities to capture or return fugitive enslaved people, regardless of the laws of other states or even the Federal government. Those laws led to all sorts of tussles between the states, and one of the arguments South Carolina made when it seceded was that it wasn’t staying where its laws about people being property weren’t respected. So that could get…interesting.

However, right now, I’m feeling good about living in a state that’s trying to protect people, not harm them. And if those measures weren’t enough of a positive sign, Chapter 28 criminalizes conversion therapy and any misrepresentation of conversion therapy as actually being therapeutic; and Chapter 27 cracks down on labor trafficking, explicitly including sex trafficking.

These are all just the ones that past last week and the Governor has signed. There’s more coming. Cannabis fans6 were already amused last session, when the legislature was still split, but the DFL managed to pull a fast one on the GOP, and got them to pass a hemp-based THC edibles bill. As we speak, both houses have passed different versions of a full-on cannabis legalization and expungement bill, that will be going to conference committees shortly. The governor has already said he'll sign it.

The expungement part of the bill is, to my mind, the most important. Possession of marijuana and related substances are—like so many other things—used disproportionately to lock up Black men. Racial justice demands expungement of a crime which most people no longer really think of as even particularly transgressive, even where it’s not yet strictly legal.

So there is your opening dose of hope for this week. The press is not wrong to highlight the way red states are turning full-on fascist wherever they can get away with it, but it’s worth celebrating our blue-state wins as well!