We are asking that you attend your precinct caucus on Tuesday, February 3 at 7:00 pm, and put forward the resolution (see menu bar) asking that the party ‘affirms its commitment to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right of free speech, by including in its platform repeal of anti-boycott laws, Minnesota statutes 3.226 and 16c053.’

See the DFL and GOP resolutions

Background:

In May of 2017, Governor Dayton signed into law Minnesota statutes  3.226 and 16C.053, that require businesses and individuals to certify that they do not engage in boycotting Israel, or persons or entities doing business in Israel.  

That law has been slightly modified since to only cover contracts in excess of $50,000 and to hide their intent under the cover of ‘discrimination’.  These statutes, largely written by ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, are very similar to laws passed in 37 other states. 

These laws violate our right to freedom of speech as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that the right to boycott is protected under the First Amendment. 

In addition, these laws can be used as templates to restrict the right to boycott companies in the fossil fuel, gun manufacturing, mining industry and more. In a recent example, bills were introduced in the 2024 Minnesota legislative session to penalize the boycotting of polluting industries.

The MN BDS Community, along with a coalition of more than 35 other Minnesota organizations, is leading the effort to repeal these bills.  Repeal bills have been introduced into the Minnesota Senate by Sandy Pappas (SF 3356) and into the Minnesota House by Kristi Pursell (HF3258).

The MN BDS Link Tree and MN BDS Community website provide background, action steps and resources all in one place.  Attend the upcoming Community Engagement meeting to learn more about the campaign and how you can pitch in. 

For more information you can reach us via zoom during our office hours or by emailing mnbdscommunity@gmail.com.