In mid-April, the Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Betsy Hodges unanimously enacted a declaration naming June 2017 to be “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month” in the City of Minneapolis.
The city has recognized Pride, either as the month of June or the last weekend of June, for several decades. The first such declaration came in 1975, but for a few years after, conservative factions on the council blocked such declarations. In fact, in 1981, the council fought to prevent a one-hour closure of Hennepin Avenue for a Pride Block Party. The council lost that legal battle (full story here), and the council has since been among the most progressive on LGBTQ issues in the country.
This year, each of the 13 members of the council signed on to the proclamation. The declaration boasts Minneapolis’ role as a LGBTQ equity leader:
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