Senate attempt to repeal anti-gay amendment fails

An attempt to repeal an anti-gay marriage amendment failed in a Senate committee on Wednesday. Rep. Mary Jo McGuire of Falcon Heights attempted to amend a proposed — and controversial — voter ID constitutional amendment with language that would repeal the anti-gay marriage amendment. The effort failed along party lines.

McGuire made the motion in the Local Government and Elections committee on Wednesday afternoon. … Continue Reading

MN Family Council gave $350k to amendment backers, where did it come from?

According to documents filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, the Minnesota Family Council gave $346,994.05 to Minnesota for Marriage and the pro-amendment campaign in 2011 through its political fund, Minnesota Family Council Marriage Protection Fund, which it set up to pass an anti-gay marriage amendment. That’s almost twice what the Minnesota Family Council received in revenue in 2010 and the group hasn’t disclosed where that influx of money has come from. … Continue Reading

MN GOP to bring in anti-gay Congressman for Lincoln Reagan Dinner

Florida Rep. Allen West will be the featured speaker at the Minnesota Republican Party’s Lincoln Reagan Dinner in March, according to a press release by the MN GOP. West has a history of inflammatory remarks about LGBT people including advocating that they change and that marriage equality is an “oxymoron.” … Continue Reading

Minnesotans United raises $1.2 million to fight amendment

Minnesotans United for All Families, the coalition of groups opposed to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage reported over the weekend that they raised $1.2 million in 2011 to defeat the amendment. The majority of donations came from Minnesota. … Continue Reading

New poll shows anti-gay marriage amendment battle is tight

A poll released by Public Policy Polling on Friday shows that both sides of the anti-gay marriage amendment are under 50 percent. 48 percent of voters said they support the amendment and 44 percent say they are opposed. The margin of error is 2.8 percent. 8 percent said they weren’t sure, a considerable number given Minnesota quirky ballot measure laws. … Continue Reading

Eden Prairie passes domestic partner ordinance, becomes 18th Minnesota city to do so

The Eden Prairie City Council approved an ordinance creating a domestic partner registry on Tuesday night. The city becomes the 18th in Minnesota to offer a domestic partner registry and passed overwhelmingly, except for Council Member Brad Aho, the council’s endorsed Republican member, who spoke against the ordinance for nearly 10 minutes before casting the lone vote against it.

“Marriage strengthens our society and that’s why we honor and give it benefits specific to marriage. If the people of Minnesota choose to redefine marriage in the election year this year that really going to be addressed at the state level,” Aho said. … Continue Reading

Gay Mormons react to church efforts to pass anti-gay marriage amendment in Minnesota

Affirmation, a group of LGBT Mormons, reacted strongly to the news that the Latter Day Saints were getting active in Minnesota. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints put out a letter to Minnesota’s Mormon temples last week, according to a Minnesota blogger. Affirmation asked the LDS to reconsider its efforts in Minnesota. … Continue Reading

Jeff Wilfahrt files to run for Minnesota House

Jeff Wilfahrt has been a strong voice against a proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution banning rights for same-sex couples, and he intends to bring that voice to the Minnesota Legislature in 2013. Last week, he filed to run in his district in Rosemount.

In a letter to friends and fellow advocated of LGBT equality, Wilfahrt explained his decision to run for office. … Continue Reading

Legislators propose repeal of anti-gay marriage amendment

DFL legislators in the Minnesota House introduced a bill during the legislative recess on Friday to repeal a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage from the 2012 ballot. The bill faces high hurdles as the Republicans still control the House.

Here’s text of the bill: … Continue Reading

Conservative Christian parents fight for right to discriminate against LGBT students at Anoka Hennepin

A slew of conservative Christian parents — and even an orthodox rabbi — implored the Anoka-Hennepin School District to purge schools of any mention of homosexuality and demanded that teachers teach about the “ex-homosexual” movement and “gay-related immune deficiency.” One district member even assailed Dan Savage’s It Gets Better campaign as vulgar and accused the popular columnist of teaching children about “three-ways.” Several people testified using little more than versus from the Bible that are often used to demean and degrade the LGBT community.

The controversy in the district is over the sexual orientation curriculum policy also called the “neutrality policy” which says that LGBT issues are not to be discussed in the district’s schools. Six students are suing to eliminate the policy on the grounds that it makes for a hostile school environment and the district announced last month that they are considering scrapping the policy and replacing it with one that deals with “controversial topics” but doesn’t single out LGBT students and issues. … Continue Reading