Emmer says anti-gay stance cost him job at Hamline

Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer says that Hamline University passed him up for a position teaching business law because of his stance on gay marriage. Hamline bars discrimination against LGBT people by faculty members and Emmer has a clear record of promoting discrimination against LGBT, but it is clear from news reports that Emmer is being hyperbolic and that his politics had less to do with the process used to select him in the first place. … Continue Reading

MN campaign finance board dismisses case against Archdiocese’s marriage DVDs

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board dismissed a complaint against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and Archbishop John Nienstedt, claiming that DVD’s sent out to influence the 2010 gubernatorial election did not constitute lobbying and the Archdiocese would not have to disclose its donors.

Six weeks before the 2010 election, the Archdiocese sent out more than 400,000 DVDs that urged voters to vote for candidates that supported putting a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage on the ballot in 2012. … Continue Reading

Minnesota for Marriage pushes “polls” via web ads

Minnesota for Marriage wants to know whether “gay activists” should redefine marriage or if Minnesota voters should define marriage, and whether or not it’s wrong for same-sex couples and singles to be parents in a pair of web ads the group released this week.

One ad, being pushed through Google’s ad services, claims that “gay activists” are trying to redefine marriage for everyone else.

The ad then takes users to a “poll” that asks:

“Do you believe the voters of Minnesota should decide the definition of marriage? Or should gay activists redefine marriage for everyone? Take this urgent poll right now.”

Here’s a screenshot of that page:

Another ad asks if children need a mom and a dad…

And takes viewers to another “poll” that asks them to answer yes or no.

Here’s a screen shot of that “poll”:

House, Senate committees pass marriage amendment

A bill that would amend the Minnesota Constitution to bar same-sex marriage passed to key committees. The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee passed the bill on Friday, and the House Civil Law Committee passed it on Monday. In both cases, the bill passed with support of Republicans and opposition by DFLers. Here are a few clips from those meetings:

Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, called the proposed amendment an attack on a minority:

Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-St. Louis Park, asked, “How many gays does God have to create before we accept that he wants them around?”

Madeline Koch, a straight Republican, testified in opposition to an anti-gay marriage amendment.

Sen. Barb Goodwin, DFL-Columbia Heights, called out Republican legislators saying that the amendment amounts to discrimination and called it “craziness.”

Anti-gay marriage amendment offered by Minnesota Republicans

Republican in the Minnesota Senate introduced three bill on Tuesday that would put a constitutional amendment on the 2012 ballot banning gay marriage in Minnesota. Members of the DFL spoke out against the measure which will bypass Gov. Mark Dayton. National polling over the last few months has found a slight majority of Americans favoring the legalization of gay marriage, but no such reputable polls have been conducted in Minnesota. Here are the Republicans and DFLers reacting to the bills, courtesy of The Uptake:

Brass Rail, Jetset, Twilight in CityPages ‘Best of’ list

CityPages released its “Best of the Twin Cities” list last week and several of Minnesota’s LGBT institutions made the cut.

Best place to people watch: Brass Rail

“The place recently underwent a renovation in an effort to class itself up a little. That effort was more or less successful, so now the stable of regulars is salted with after-work skyway types, disoriented tourists looking for a pre-theater drink, and of course the folks who are coming early to guarantee a seat for the Wednesday-through-Sunday go-go boys. It’s a friendly mix, and never boring.” … Continue Reading

Twin Cities Pride vs. Minneapolis Park Board, round two

For the second year, Twin Cities Pride and the Minneapolis Park Board are in a tangle over whether Pride can exclude vendors who espouse anti-LGBT views during the Twin Cities LGBT Pride Festival in Loring Park. Pride wants to establish “free speech zones” in the park for anti-gay protesters, but so far Minneapolis Parks has balked at the idea.

Last year, Twin Cities Pride filed an injunction against anti-gay activist Brian Johnson of Hayward, Wis. In 2009, Johnson was arrested by Park Police after Pride organizers asked them to leave. At the time, Johnson’s wife told local media, “We believe [homosexuality] is a sin.” … Continue Reading

Top 10 reasons to attend OutFront’s Lobby Day

There are thousands of reasons to attend OutFront Minnesota’s Lobby Day, but we’ve put together 10 that will hopefully persuade you to take an hour or two on Thursday to make a difference for LGBT equality. Meetings with legislators are all day on Thursday and the rally begins at noon on the Capitol lawn. … Continue Reading

Tribute to Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt, a gay servicemember

The parents of Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt put together this memorial in honor of his service. Wilfarht was killed in Afghanistan on Feb. 27 in Kandahar province. His parents said that his being gay was the least interesting thing about him, that he often impressed his superiors, and that he was a peaceful man. … Continue Reading

Minnesota Hatewatch: Bradlee Dean, Bryan Fischer say gays were responsible for Holocaust

Radio host and front man for anti-gay ministry You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International hosted Byran Fischer of the American Family Association, a group which has been labeled by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a “hate group.” Dean and Fischer argued the case that “homosexuals” were responsible for the rise of the Nazi party in pre-WWII Germany and, by extension, the Holocaust.

Dean has had close associations with Minnesota politicians including Rep. Michele Bachmann and Fischer hosted former Gov. Tim Pawlenty on his radio show in January.

American people don’t know “the connection between homosexuality and the rise of the Nazi party,” Fischer said. “Hitler himself was a active homosexual… a gay prostitute. ”

“[The homosexuals] were willing to do things that he could not get straight soldiers to do in terms of brutality,” he added. “The myth out there is that the Nazi party persecuted homosexuals and it is true that they did but what they did was went after the effeminate homosexuals.”

Dean added, “I’m going to high five everything you are saying.”

Fischer continued, “You can really say the Nazi party would not have been possible without the homosexuals in the Brownshirts.”

“I’m not saying that the homosexuals are directly responsible for the Holocaust but I think it’s indisputable that there would not have been the Nazi party without the stormtroopers, all of whom were homosexual, and the holocaust would not have happened without the Nazi party, so the dots there are pretty easy to connect.”