FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 19, 2015
Contact: Greta Bergstrom, 651.336.6722, greta@takeactionminnesota.org
Guns Trump Civil Rights for House GOP Leadership
St. Paul, MN – TakeAction Minnesota issued the following statement following the House GOP’s refusal to restore the vote for 47,000 Minnesotans on parole or probation:
“We are deeply disappointed that strong, bi-partisan voting rights restoration language was stripped from the omnibus Judiciary bill after House Republicans refused their support. Minnesota had a chance to pass a major civil rights victory this session, and advance racial justice in our state, by re-enfranchising those who have been wrongly disconnected from democracy. However, Republican party politics trumped justice when House GOP leadership calculated that more Minnesotans voting was not in their best political interests. It’s hard to think of something more cynical.
“Not only did Speaker Daudt refuse to hold hearings on Restore the Vote, his caucus demanded the language be removed from the omnibus bill in final conference committee negotiations. They wouldn’t even hold a single public hearing on this bill.
“In the end, the right to own silencers was deemed more important than restoring the voting rights of the silenced. Those with a past criminal record will NOT be automatically disqualified from owning a gun but WILL remain automatically disqualified from voting in an election.
“We are proud to have worked with a broad Restore the Vote coalition of seventy-two organizations. In particular, we want to applaud the organizing work of Minneapolis MADDADs, Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC), the African-American Leadership Forum (AALF), Better Futures Minnesota, ISAIAH, Change Equals Opportunity (CEO), Communications Workers of America (CWA), Network for Development of Children of African Descent (NdCAD), and Ujamaa Place.
“TakeAction Minnesota and its allies are committed to holding Speaker Daudt, House Republicans and Senate Democrats accountable for this failure and will work to advance this issue in the 2016 legislative session. Minnesota must join the thirteen other states that allow those on parole or probation to vote. Until this passes, we will continue to organize and ensure the right to vote is no longer denied to 47,000 Minnesotans living and working in communities around our state.”
# # #
TakeAction Minnesota is a statewide people’s network of individual and organizational members working together to motivate people to act publicly in order to advance economic and racial equity in our state. The organization has offices in St. Paul, Duluth and Grand Rapids.
