Minnesota DFL House members — and one GOP House member — have introduced a resolution urging a halt to the persecution of gay and bisexual men in the Russian republic of Chechnya. The resolution mirrors one introduced in the Minnesota Senate last week that raises concerns about reports from Chechnya that detail the detention, torture, and sometimes extrajudicial killing of gay and bisexual men.

The resolution, introduced on Monday, demands that the United States and the United Nations take action to halt the persecution of gay men in Chechnya. HF2667 states, in part:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges action by the President and the Congress of the United States to help put an end to the horrific arrest, detention, torture, and murder of gay men in Chechnya.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Minnesotans find this situation, which has also involved nongovernmental individuals being encouraged to commit violence and discrimination against gay men in Chechnya, with threats made to their families amidst an atmosphere of support for the genocidal elimination of gay men, to be abhorrent and intolerable in a civilized world.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Minnesotans demand an end to this persecution, with multinational corporations, especially oil companies, using their economic clout to pressure Russian and Chechen authorities to investigate and put a stop to this violence and mistreatment; Minnesotans further demand that Russian and Chechen authorities stop their denials, stop fomenting homophobia and violence, and bring to justice those responsible for these crimes.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Minnesotans demand that the United States and the United Nations respond to this crisis and put pressure on the relevant parties, help provide safe escape to the victims, and provide safe haven/refugee status to them, sending the message that Minnesota is a welcoming, tolerant place.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of State, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Minnesota’s Senators and Representatives in Congress.

The resolution was introduced by DFL Reps. Karen Clark of Minneapolis, Erin Maye Quade of Apple Valley, Susan Allen of Minneapolis, Peter Fischer of Maplewood, Frank Hornstein of Minneapolis, Raymond Dehn of Minneapolis, Mary Kunesh-Podein of New Brighton, Fue Lee of Minneapolis, JoAnn Ward of Woodbury, John Lesch of St. Paul, Peggy Flanagan of St. Louis Park, Jason Metsa of Eveleth, Tina Liebling of Rochester, Liz Olson of Duluth, Jamie Becker-Finn of Roseville, Rena Moran of St. Paul, Mike Freiberg

Republican Rep. Dario Anselmo of Edina also sponsored the resolution.