Members of Minnesota’s Jewish community come out strong against the anti-gay marriage amendment,
Anti-gay marriage amendment
Bet Shalom Congregation is organizing to oppose the anti-gay marriage amendment:
“This Sunday, from 2:00 -4:00 pm, Bet Shalom Congregation in Minnetonka will be holding an informative and engaging forum on the anti-family Minnesota Marriage Amendment and how Bet Shalom is joining the interfaith and bipartisan campaign to defeat it this November.”
Sen. Scott Dibble tells the Patch that he’s likely going to push for a repeal of the anti-gay marriage amendment before it hits the ballot in 2012.
“I’ll probably be bringing a bill with Karen Clark to rescind the anti-marriage amendment. It’ll be a long shot, but there are enough Republicans who’ve expressed remorse, and it’ll give them the opportunity to vote their conscience.”
Winona Daily News hits Republicans for focusing on same-sex marriage instead of jobs and other issues.
“How do we adequately and fairly fund local government, local schools and higher education, and health care? How do we create jobs? How do we fund badly needed repairs for roads, bridges and sewers? What do we do — if anything — about a stadium for the Vikings? The answer? So far, the Republicans will ask Minnesotans on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.”
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas notes that its board has voted to oppose the amendment. In addition, the group is hosting a series of talks about LGBT victims of the Holocaust.
Though there can be no responsible direct comparison between the atrocities of the genocidal Nazi regime and the current debate over marriage equality for gays and lesbians, the JCRC is not oblivious to the fact that this debate over marriage will be sure to engage Minnesotans over the next eleven months and during the run of the exhibit. Moreover, as an organization whose board of directors just recently voted unanimously to oppose the Minnesota Marriage Amendment “on the grounds that marriage is a fundamental human right and that the Minnesota Constitution should not be used as a vehicle for restricting rights and civil liberties,” the JCRC hopes that by bringing this exhibit to Minnesota at this critical time, Minnesotans from all backgrounds will be reminded of the danger for all of us when we use law to marginalize insular minorities in general, and our GLBTQ friends, family, and neighbors in particular.
David Morris of the Institute for Local Self Reliance questions Catholic Archbishop Nienstedt’s focus on gay marriage:
“In the past two years, the Catholic Church has spent considerable resources opposing contraception and gay marriage, but has expended little to extend unemployment insurance or raise the minimum wage or stop foreclosures or raise the income tax on the wealthy or curb the excesses of Wall Street.”
Safe schools
PFLAG hosted a conference on safe schools this week called Cultivating Respect: Creating Safe Schools For All Students.
“We need to give them the power,” said Jaime Nabozny. “We need to give them the words, and we need to give them permission to stand up because they have the solution. “
Anoka Hennepin School District is poised to replace the controversial policy limiting discussions of LGBT issues.
“The majority of school board members in Minnesota’s largest school district say they’re inclined to support a proposed alternative to a policy governing discussions of sexual orientation in the classroom.” The article says 4 of the 6 school board members are cautiously supporting the change.
Discrimination
A gay St. Cloud police officer lawsuit regarding discrimination is going forward.
“This decision was a good decision not just for Officer Lathrop, but for all members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community in Minnesota,” Madia said. Madia is Ashwin Madia, who ran for Congress against Erik Paulsen in 2008. Madia is representing officer Sean Lathrop who alleges discrimination by the St. Cloud police department.