Eagan City Council passes domestic partner registry

The Eagan City Council passed an ordinance creating a domestic partner registry for couples who cannot or wish not to marry. The ordinance includes same-sex couples. The city becomes the 17th city in Minnesota to pass such an ordinance.

It follows Minneapolis, Duluth, St. Paul, Edina, Golden Valley, Red Wing, Rochester, Maplewood, St. Louis Park, Richfield, Robbinsdale, Falcon Heights, Hopkins, Shoreview, Crystal, and Shorewood. … Continue Reading

What does Senjem election mean for LGBT issues in 2012?

Republicans in the Minnesota Senate elected Rochester Sen. David Senjem as the new Senate Majority Leader on Tuesday after ten hours of deliberation. Senjem will replace former majority leader, Amy Koch, following revelations that she had an inappropriate relationship with one of her employees. Some see a potential for good news in his election for the LGBT community. … Continue Reading

Religious right uses Emmer-Hamline flap to push anti-gay marriage amendment

Tom Emmer took to the airwaves last weekend to complain that he was bullied by Hamline University when the school decided it did not want to hire the fiery former Republican politician as a business law instructor. And his complaining has landed the support of the National Organization for Marriage, Minnesota for Marriage, and Minnesota Majority, three groups opposed to equality for LGBT Minnesotans. … Continue Reading

Koch scandal raises charges of hypocrisy over anti-gay marriage amendment

When Republican Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch resigned last week following rumors of an “inappropriate relationship” with a male Republican staffer, charges of hypocrisy due to her role as the leader of a party that pushed an anti-gay marriage amendment onto the 2012 ballot have begun to surface. … Continue Reading

Neinstedt issues anti-gay marriage amendment prayer

Archbishop John Neinstedt announced on Thursday, a special prayer he hopes will help pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Minnesota’s Catholic hierarchy has been the driving force behind the amendment with the Archdiocese issuing 400,000 DVDs last fall to influence the ballot measure and the church’s lobbying arm, the Minnesota Catholic Conference joining the Minnesota Family Council and the National Organization for Marriage in pushing the amendment. … Continue Reading

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

At Anoka Hennepin, proposed policy changes prompt protest by anti-gay parents group

“We were a model for the nation in protecting kids from classroom homosexual propaganda,” said Lori Thompson, a parent in the Anoka-Hennepin School District. Thompson made her remarks at the district’s school board meeting where the board is considering scrapping a policy that prohibits discussion of LGBT issues in most situations, and replacing it with a policy that limits teachers ability to discuss controversial issues. Anti-gay activists came out in force, including an “ex-lesbian”, to protest the move while members of the community supportive of LGBT students were concerned that those students might be labelled “controversial” by the new policy. … Continue Reading

HRC ranks Minnesota businesses on LGBT equality

The Human Rights Campaign released its annual ratings of fortune 500 companies and their policies regarding LGBT employees. Fourteen Minnesota-based companies scored a perfect 100 percent on the list, while one, CHS Inc., scored a zero.

The businesses that scored a 100 percent were 3M, Ameriprise Financial, Best Buy, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Cargill, Dorsey and Whitney, Faegre and Benson, General Mills, Medtronic, Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi LLP, Supervalu, U.S. Bancorp, and UnitedHealth. … 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

Anoka-Hennepin to reevaluate policy that singles out LGBT issues

The Anoka-Hennepin School Board will debate at their next school board meeting whether or not to keep a policy that limits discussion of LGBT issues in the district’s schools. The board is considering replacing its “neutrality policy” with an updated one. … Continue Reading