January 22, 2026 – Calumet Co., Wi – When I ran for office in 2022, our nation was still reeling from the draconian and unconstitutional edicts imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across the country, churches were ordered to close their doors or severely restrict attendance, not because of any criminal wrongdoing, but in the name of “public safety.” In the process, one of the most sacred God-given rights, the free exercise of religion, was treated as optional, conditional, and subordinate to bureaucratic decree.
Wisconsinites do not need government to make personal decisions for them, nor do churches need bureaucrats to dictate how they worship; individuals, families, and church leaders are fully capable of assessing risks, taking reasonable safety precautions, and deciding for themselves whether and how to attend services in cases of health emergencies.
In times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, people need their churches more than ever, as isolation, fear, and uncertainty fuel anxiety, depression, and despair. Faith communities provide spiritual grounding, human connection, and hope that government programs cannot replace.
Shortly after beginning my lone term in the Assembly, I made it a priority to fight to reinforce, affirm, and strengthen the God-given right to free exercise of religion within our state constitution. With the amazing help of Senator Tomczyk and Representative Tusler, I drafted the amendment that will now be on the ballot this November. This effort was not about creating a new right, but about making unmistakably clear to state bureaucrats and judges alike that no such injustice may ever again be inflicted upon the people of Wisconsin.
America’s founding principles are explicit on this point. Our nation’s founding document, the Declaration of Independence, references God four times, grounding our liberties not in government permission, but in divine authority. It begins by affirming that when governments become destructive of liberty, the people have both the right and the duty to act:
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
The Declaration then states the foundational truth upon which American constitutionalism rests:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
These God-given rights were not bestowed upon a favored class or limited to a particular race, creed, religion, or station in life. They belong equally to all people, of every race, every background, and every denomination, because they flow from our common Creator, not from government.
And after formally declaring independence from tyrannical rule, the signers concluded with these solemn words:
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
These are not poetic flourishes. They are legal and philosophical assertions: Our rights come from God, not from government. The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791, exist not to grant rights, but to secure and protect those preexisting rights from government infringement.
The First Amendment states plainly: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The Ninth Amendment further reinforces this truth by warning that the enumeration of certain rights must never be used to deny others retained by the people: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
The Tenth Amendment lays out this constitutional design by affirming the role of the states in safeguarding liberty: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” A stronger state constitution that clearly protects fundamental rights is not a threat to the constitutional order; it is a fulfillment of it. When states act within their proper authority to secure God-given liberties, they strengthen federalism, reinforce constitutional limits, and provide an additional safeguard against centralized overreach. This duty is inseparable from Article IV, Section 4, which guarantees every state a republican form of government.
States cannot meaningfully safeguard liberty, restrain power, or protect God-given rights if lawmaking authority is surrendered to unelected bureaucrats, emergency decrees, or judicial fiat rather than exercised by accountable representatives of the people.
Article IV, Section 2, guarantees that citizens of each state are entitled to all privileges and immunities enjoyed by citizens in every other state. Article VI declares the Constitution the supreme law of the land, binding judges in every state regardless of contrary state laws or constitutional provisions.
Most importantly, Article VI also imposes a duty, not an option, upon those who govern:
“Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution.”
The constitutional amendment we will be voting on in November deserves a clear and unequivocal “YES.” By supporting it, we are not expanding government power; we are restraining it.
I wanted to make sure that was the intent. Since 2020, nearly half of the states have passed similar legislation or constitutional amendments to do the same. We are affirming what the Founders understood and what recent history has reminded us must never be left ambiguous: The free exercise of religion is not a privilege granted by the state, but a God-given right that no emergency, no executive order, and no rogue court ruling may lawfully suspend.
While such an amendment should never have been necessary, the events of recent years proved otherwise.
This vote is about restoring constitutional clarity, defending liberty, and ensuring that never again will Wisconsinites be told that obedience to God must yield to the whims of government. As Luke recorded in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than men.”
Ultimately, this debate is not only constitutional, but eternal. Every one of us will one day stand before our Creator and give an account of what we did with the responsibilities He entrusted to us.
Did we defend truth, uphold liberty, and act courageously when it mattered, or did we remain silent? As Charlie Kirk would say, our calling is to “make heaven crowded,” and that requires faith lived openly, defended boldly, and never surrendered to government pressure.
Thank you to Rep. Ron Tusler and Sen. Cory Tomczyk for bringing this back for second consideration, and to the legislative members and leadership for passing it in a bipartisan manner and placing it on the Tuesday, November 3, 2026, election.
Please remember Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst,” and in Romans 13:1, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”
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