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Bachmann to raise funds for anti-gay public school ministry

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On Nov. 12, Rep. Michele Bachmann will be the headliner at a fundraiser for You Can Run But You Cannot Hide, an anti-gay ministry that has positioned itself to have access to students at public high schools around the Midwest.

I recently wrote a series of articles for the Minnesota Independent about the ministry and the fact that it may be running afoul of the Constitution by ministering at public high schools assemblies. The administrators at those schools say the group doesn’t mention that it is a ministry or that it has religious programming in marketing materials that the group send to high school principals.

But perhaps most disturbing are the statements the group makes about gays and lesbians. From the Minnesota Independent:

The ministry has harsh words for gays and lesbians, as well. During its April 4 broadcast, the duo lashed out at the decision by the Iowa Supreme Court that legalized same-sex marriage in that state.

“In Minneapolis, they had to spread their smudge and their shame and their ignorance and their idiocies and their immorality and their debauchery in the face of the American people, all the way to Minneapolis, by having on the front page of the paper today, Jake, two little girls — I don’t know if that was their lesbian parents behind them.”

He continued, “Isn’t it interesting that these people are so stinkin’ sick in the mind that they use little kids for their agenda, showing their state of mind?”

After reading Bible verses, the duo incorrectly stated that homosexuality is a crime in the U.S. and said gays only live to be 42 years old.

“Do you not understand, enemies of God, [that] you are cursing yourselves?” said Dean. “This secular government is giving them rights? They are talking away their life is what they are doing. What’s the average age of a homosexual?”

McMillian chimed in, “A homosexual male? 42 is what they live to be.”

Dean added, “And by the way, they are aiming at your kids like crazy folks.”

Later in that same program, Dean erroneously stated that homosexuality is a crime. “Why are they asking for the decriminalization of homosex? Because it is a crime! It’s a crime! Folks, they are lawless people!”

In addition to McMillian, Dean has also teamed up with the Minnesota Family Council’s Barb Anderson on the radio program.

“Did you know that it’s illegal in 28 states in this country to commit adultery or fornication or sodomy even in the state of Minnesota?” Dean told Anderson and his listeners on Apr. 4. “But the laws have not been enforced in the courts since 1944. It’s illegal. Seventy-six percent of those who write your papers see nothing wrong with homosexuality. It’s rightly called crimes against nature.”

[The Minnesota Supreme Court overturned laws against sodomy in 2001, and the United States Supreme Court did the same in 2003.]

On the murder of a gay student in Wyoming, Dean said, “The Matthew Shepard lie had nothing to do with homosexuality. It was a drug deal that went bad.”

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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.

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