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Around the Region: Clinton courts LGBT community in Iowa

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Around the Region: Clinton courts LGBT community in Iowa

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Wisconsin
*Menasha High School, southwest of Green Bay, voted last week to implement a transgender-inclusive school policy, the Post-Crescent reports:

School board president Joe Lingnofski said the board members had concerns early in the policy adoption process, but their fears were quelled after the administration presented the first draft.
“If you thoroughly read the policy it addresses the concerns we’ve brought up with regard to other students, so I think we ended up with a real fair, well-thought-out policy to protect all students,” he said.

*Students at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh held a march to draw attention to LGBT issues, the Advance Titan reports:

Director of the LGBTQ Resource Center Liz Cannon said the march is a chance to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, and a time to think about what it means to an ally.
“I’ve gotten to the point where I’m starting to see the word ally as a verb rather than a noun,” Cannon said. “Just naming oneself as an ally may not have the effect one wants to have, one has to be an active ally for the effect to be felt.”

*Gov. Scott Walker told an audience in New Hampshire that he attended the wedding reception of a relative who married after courts legalized marriage equality, CNN reports:

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker told reporters Saturday night although he doesn’t support same-sex marriage he attended a wedding reception for a gay relative.

“Even though my position on marriage is still that its defined as between a man and a woman, and I support the constitution of the state but for someone I love, we’ve been to a reception,” he said at the end of the GOP Summit in New Hampshire.

The New York Times provides some context, including information about the happy couple:

“That’s certainly a personal issue,” Mr. Walker said at a brief news conference after addressing a gathering of New Hampshire Republicans here. Referring to his wife, he continued, “Tonette and I and our family already had a family member who’s had a reception. I haven’t been to a wedding. That’s true even though my position on marriage is still that’s defined between a man and a woman, and I support the Constitution of the state. But for someone I love, we’ve been at a reception.” The governor was away on business when the wedding occurred, but he later attended a reception for the newlyweds.

North Dakota
*Last week, National Public Radio broadcast a series on LGBT rights in North Dakota including: Radio Connects North Dakota Residents Divided On Gay Rights, Church Ceremonies Push North Dakota Town To Grapple With Gay Rights, and A North Dakota Family Breaks The Silence On Gay Marriage

Iowa
*Gov. Terry Branstad is supporting the decision of a Catholic high school to deny a gay man a job as a teacher, WHBF reports:

“I support treating everyone with respect and dignity, but I also believe that religious institutions should not be asked to violate their conscience,” said Gov. Branstad

*On the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton told an audience near Des Moines that she hopes the U.S. Supreme Court will back marriage equality, the New York Times reports:

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign said on Wednesday that she hopes that the Supreme Court will make same-sex marriage a constitutional right, reflecting a shift in her previous view that it is a decision that should be left to the states.
Adrienne Elrod, a spokeswoman for Hillary for America, said, “Hillary Clinton supports marriage equality and hopes the Supreme Court will come down on the side of same-sex couples being guaranteed that constitutional right.”

The Clinton campaign honed in on her position by releasing a video of a conversation with a gay Iowa man. The Human Rights Campaign announced the video:

In a video released today by Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, an openly gay Iowan applauded Clinton for urging the Supreme Court to take a stand for marriage equality.
“I was thrilled when you recently urged the Supreme Court to rule in favor of marriage equality. I was like ‘That’s our gal,'” Mike Yowell said while having coffee with Clinton in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

*Conservative media are making a big deal about sexual health education that was offered at a conference on LGBT youth, including Fox News:

They thought the Iowa Governor’s Conference on LGBTQ Youth was about anti-bullying. Instead, about 1,000 teenagers from more than 100 Iowa communities were treated to a profanity-laced performance by a drag queen along with graphic conversations on oral sex and a transgender tutorial on how to make fake testicles.

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Andy Birkey has written for a number of Minnesota and national publications. He founded Eleventh Avenue South which ran from 2002-2011, wrote for the Minnesota Independent from 2006-2011, the American Independent from 2010-2013. His writing has appeared in The Advocate, The Star Tribune, The Huffington Post, Salon, Cagle News Service, Twin Cities Daily Planet, TheUptake, Vita.mn and much more. His writing on LGBT issues, the religious right and social justice has won awards including Best Beat Reporting by the Online News Association, Best Series by the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and an honorable mention by the Sex-Positive Journalism awards.