Archbishop John Nienstedt is bringing two anti-gay heavy-hitters to Minnesota to talk about keeping same-sex marriage illegal in this state. Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and Reverend Salvatore Cordileone, the Bishop of Oakland, will speak at an April 17 event in St. Paul.
Gallagher’s NOM played a huge role in the Prop 8 battle in California and was responsible for a number of hateful and misleading ads against same-sex couples. Cordileone was one of the drafters of Prop 8. In fact, he is known as the “Father of Proposition 8,” according to the East Bay Express. Good As You has the details:
What almost no one knows is that without Bishop Sal, gay men and lesbians would almost surely still be able to get married today. As an auxiliary bishop in San Diego, Cordileone played an indispensable role in conceiving, funding, organizing, and ultimately winning the campaign to pass Proposition 8. It was Bishop Sal and a small group of Catholic leaders who decided that they had to amend the state constitution. It was Bishop Sal who found the first major donor and flushed the fledgling campaign with cash. It was Bishop Sal who personally brought in the organization that took the lead on the petition drive. And it was Bishop Sal who coordinated the Catholic effort with evangelical churches around the state. Bishop Sal even helped craft the campaign’s rhetorical strategy, sitting in on focus groups to hone the message of Proposition 8.
Is the Catholic church in Minnesota gearing up for a fight by bringing in these heavy-hitters?
Here are the details on this event:
Reclaiming the Culture of Marriage and Life Spring Forum
* Date(s):
* Saturday, April 17, 2010
* Time(s):
* 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
* Location:
* University of St. Thomas
* Cost:
* FREE
Save the Date!
Archdiocesan-wide Reclaiming the Culture of Marriage and Life Spring Forum
An archdiocesan-wide initiative, inspired by Archbishop John Nienstedt, aimed at helping the faithful “Understand the Cultural and Legal Battle” over the restoration of marriage and the respect for human life.
Please join us for this important event in support of marriage and life.
8:00am – Mass at the Saint Paul Seminary
9:00am – 12:00pm – Forum at the University of St. Thomas, Brady Education Center
Guest Presenters
* Maggie Gallagher, President of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy
* Most Reverend Salvatore Cordileone, Bishop of Oakland, one of the creators of Proposition 8 and one of the seventeen United States Bishops to sign the Manhattan Declaration.
Admission is free, but a reservation is required. Seating is limited. Please call the Office of Marriage, Family and Life at 651.291.4488. Deadline for reservation is Monday, April 12.
Additional Resources
We also invite you to read the Manhattan Declaration:
“We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them”
David Joseph DeGrio is running for Minneapolis Public School Board. The chemistry professor says that sound science and accurate history are important to school curriculum. DeGrio earned the endorsement of Stonewall DFL, the LGBT caucus of Minnesota’s Democratic Party, at a recent meeting.
“Our schools must reflect the values of our community; this can only be achieved by a bottom-up approach where the Board builds trusting relationships with the community and listens to community input before making policy decisions,” DeGrio said in a press release announcing his candidacy.
“We must continue to support school curriculum that studies the history of discrimination in our country, whether it be against people of color, women, religious minorities, sexual minorities, immigrants like my grandparents or today’s new Americans,” he said. “This is not to say that the specific forms of discrimination against each of these groups are to be equivocated; rather discrimination, as a broad issue, is analogous. Discrimination is always intended to divide society into ‘us’ v. ‘them.’ By teaching children the lessons of the past, they will inevitably arrive at the conclusion of equality. We already see this happening.”
“David has been a long time advocate on issues of equality and has the professional experience to provide a uniquely valuable and much needed perspective to the Minneapolis Public School Board,” said Del Jenkins, chair of the Stonewall DFL.
School board election will be held this November. DeGrio, an eastside Minneapolis resident, is running for a citywide spot on the board.
DeGrio has secured the endorsement of openly gay Minneapolis City Council Member Robert Lilligren and Nimco Ahmed, associate chair of Senate District 62 in Minneapolis.
Minnesota lawmakers have introduced the Basic Protections Initiative, a policy developed by Project 515 which would assist same-sex couples in a variety of ways. Four bills comprise the initiative and each expand rights for domestic partners. “When enacted, these basic protections will help bring Minnesota law in line with Wisconsin’s Domestic Partner law,” Ann Kaner-Roth, Project 515 executive director, said in a statement on Monday.
The four bills are:
Delivering Equal Treatment in Court: HF3135 would allow domestic partners the same rights in court when one is a victim of crime, including the right to take time off of work.
Enforcing Equal Rules for Personal Asset Distribution: HF3134 would allow domestic partners access to an estate similar to spouses when one partner dies.
Providing Equal Rights to Employment Wages: HF3133 would allow domestic partners to collect worker’s compensation in the event that their partner dies in a work-related accident.
Ensuring Equal Access to Health Records: HF3086 would allow surviving domestic partners to gain access to their deceased/incapacitated partner’s medical records in the same manner as spouses. It would also allow partners to get medical information on the condition of a partner from medical personnel.
Several legislators offered these words in support of the bills:
Sen. Linda Scheid, DFL-Brooklyn Park: “Same-sex families in our state are facing significant hurdles to their goals of raising healthy, stable families. These are values all Minnesota families share, but current Minnesota law discriminates against some families every day. I look forward to working with Project 515 to pass legislation that will erase this discrimination.”
Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-St. Louis Park: “During the most difficult of times, such as when a loved one is a victim of crime, Minnesota law should never bring undue stress to a family,” said Representative Simon. “Passing the Equal Treatment in Court bill will reduce that stress by treating all families fairly – something most Minnesotans believe state laws should do.”
Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon, DFL-Duluth: “Committed same-sex couples and their families live in every Minnesota county and they are our friends, family members, colleagues and members of our faith communities. We must move our state one step closer toward fairness and equality for all Minnesota families.”
The House Civil Justice Committee will be the first in Minnesota’s history to conduct a hearing on the possibility of legalizing same-sex marriage in the state. Three bills will be up for discussion on Monday, and all three are supportive of expanded relationship rights for Minnesota’s same-sex couples.
The Marriage and Family Protection Act would make marriages in Minnesota gender neutral, a civil unions bill is also being proposed and another bill would recognize same-sex marriage performed in states where it is legal, such as neighboring Iowa.
“The hearing will be historic because it is the first time a committee in our state Legislature will be looking at what enacting marriage equality means for Minnesota,” said OutFront Minnesota, the state’s largest LGBT equality group.
The hearing will be held at 4:30pm on Monday, February 22 in State Office Building Room 10.
Outfront says, “supporters of marriage equality will speak about what it would be like if our state no longer explicitly barred same-sex couples from legal protections, Legislators will hear from experts and their constituents that discrimination against people because of who they love or who they are is wrong.”
But not everyone in in the LGBT community pleased about the hearing. Citizen activist Doug Benson who secured legislative support for the Marriage and Family Protection Act said called it a “show hearing” because there will be no vote taken on the bills so they won’t advance out of committee.
“There won’t be a vote on our bill because one of the bill’s likely yes votes left the committee for reasons I am not aware of,” he said. “It’s basically a show hearing to shut us up.”
While Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi appears to be backpedaling on President Obama’s State of the Union promise to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell “this year,” many of Minnesota’s Representatives say they support immediate action on a repeal.
Spokespersons for Reps. Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison, Jim Oberstar, and Tim Walz called for action on a repeal following Tuesday’s hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee where Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called ending DADT “the right thing to do,” and Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the appointment of a year-long study group to decide how the military would respond to a repeal of the law mandating Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
“16 years is enough time,” said Rick Jauert, Ellison’s spokesman. “We don’t need any more study groups.”
Spokespeople for Walz and Oberstar were similarly plain-spoken in defending their bosses’ positions. Sara Severs, spokeswoman for Walz, pointed to Walz’s co-sponsorship for repeal legislation in the House of Representatives championed by Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA).
“I think that speaks for itself,” she said.
McCollum’s office, however, issued a statement calling on President Obama to order a moratorium on any discharge under DADT.
“As we saw in yesterday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing,” the statement read, “there will continue to be anti-gay segregationists in Congress but they will not succeed in denying brave gay and lesbian Americans the opportunity to serve their country with honor and respect.”
Conservatives have long championed the need to obey “the military’s opinion” on repealing DADT, but every one of Minnesota’s Republican members of Congress — Reps. Michele Bachmann, John Kline and Erik Paulsen — as well as conservative Democrat Colin Peterson, did not return repeated phone calls and emails requesting comment for this story.
As someone once said, “silence can speak volumes.”
Caucuses are coming up next Tuesday and with so many candidates and so much information to look at, we condensed the LGBT content in the campaigns’ websites down to this handy guide. Campaign websites don’t necessarily convey whether a candidate supports a certain issue — there are a lot of issues that get left off for brevity or other reasons. But a campaign website is the online face of a candidate, and an important way for voters to get information on issues, including LGBT rights.
Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party: It’s important to note: All DFL candidates listed below have come out in support of relationship rights for same-sex couples in the media and in debates. Lack of text on campaign websites doesn’t necessarily mean they do not support LGBT rights.
Tom Bakk has a statement about getting the government out of the “marriage” business:
Family Rights.
In the Senate, Tom Bakk voted against the ban on same-sex partnerships. He believes that there should be a legal distinction for committed couples and marriages should be left up to individual faiths and churches.
Mark Dayton is pretty unequivocal about marriage equality:
I support full marriage equality with full benefits. All Minnesotans should have the right to legally marry the person they love.
The website notes: “More to come soon, please check back.”
Matt Entenza has a lot of information on his website, too much to showcase here, but here are some highlights:
GLBT Community
* Co-authored the first Minnesota bill for marriage equality. In 1998, because he believes it’s wrong for the government to say some adults can have rights and some cannot, Entenza introduced a bill on the floor of the House that would have redefined the legal definition of marriage to explicitly include two persons of the same gender.
* Opposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. In 2004 and 2005, Entenza was a vocal critic of efforts to amend Minnesota’s constitution to exclude gays and lesbians from the legal definition of marriage.
* Supported domestic partner benefits for state employees. In 2001, Entenza supported providing domestic partner benefits to gay and lesbian employees of state departments and agencies. He opposed efforts by Republicans to exclude such partnership benefits from a union contract then under negotiation.
* Authored legislation on hate crimes. Entenza co-authored a bill to increase the penalties faced by those convicted of a crime based on sexual orientation.
* Endorsed by Stonewall Caucus in every election. Since his first State House race in 1994, Entenza has been endorsed by the Stonewall DFL caucus every time he has run for office and is seeking their support again in 2010.
Susan Gaertner also has marriage equality prominently featured in her issues section:
Marriage Equality
In 1948, a time when racial segregation was still accepted and defended by much of the Democratic Party, Hubert H. Humphrey, the 34-year-old Mayor of Minneapolis, gave a speech that lasted only eight minutes. The speech, delivered in Philadelphia to the Democratic National Convention, contained these words: “The time has arrived in America for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states’ rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights!”
Sixty years later, on the issue of marriage equality, we must remember the courage Mayor Humphrey showed in examining his conscience and standing on principle, despite a politically volatile environment.
In the last two years, I have spent considerable time contemplating and discussing the issue of marriage equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Minnesotans. Much of this discussion occurred in a series of extremely respectful dialogues on the subject organized by my church.
My conclusion, based on these discussions and my personal beliefs, is that individuals, regardless of gender, should have the legal right to marry in the State of Minnesota. At the same time, I respect religious freedom and understand that the state cannot, and should not, require any religious entity to recognize such marriages.
The state’s involvement in marriage has always been a legal one and nothing more. Its role should be to guarantee, for those who commit their lives to one another, certain rights regarding property and well-being. We all deserve those rights, regardless of the gender of the person we choose to love and marry.
Steve Kelley has a prominent LGBT rights section on his campaign website and notes that the issue for him is personal:
LGBT Rights: A Matter of Basic Justice
Our society wrongly continues to discriminate against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered persons. This is a family matter for me, because my brother is gay. He and his partner should not have to struggle with barriers to living in a committed relationship nor should their relationship be given second-class status in the eyes of the law. This is a matter of basic justice. As governor I will:
* Sign a bill allowing Minnesota couples who are otherwise qualified by law to marry, regardless of gender, protect the constitutional right of religious denominations and congregations to make their own determinations regarding who should participate in the rites and sacraments of their faith, and lead a dialogue on these issues respecting the concerns of the many Minnesotans who are uncomfortable with using the word “marriage” for same-sex relationships.
* Support domestic partner benefits for government employees who are in committed relationships but who do not wish to or are not able to marry.
* Work with educators and administrators to ensure that all students and teachers are provided with a safe and supportive learning environment free from harassment and bullying, and that all school programs and policies are inclusive.
John Marty has more information on LGBT issues than there is room on this page. Much of that information is about Marty taking the lead on marriage equality at the Capitol. Here’s a clip of his essay on the issue of marriage equality legislation:
It’s Time to Move forward with Gay Marriage Legislation
Last session, along with several of my colleagues, I introduced legislation to legalize same-sex marriages in Minnesota. Now we are asking for a hearing on the legislation in the Senate Judiciary Committee during the 2009 legislative session.
Minnesota’s law prohibits any gay or lesbian from marrying the person they love. Our legislation would repeal that prohibition and extend equal marriage rights to all people regardless of sexual orientation.
This effort is made with no illusion about the difficulty of passing the legislation. In the November election, several states passed voter initiatives banning same-sex marriages. California’s initiative actually took away the existing right for gay couples to marry.
But Minnesotans have a strong sense of fairness. Minnesotans are open to change when presented with new information.
Opponents have great fear and misunderstanding about gay marriage. A legislative committee hearing could begin to address those misconceptions. I am not asking for a hearing where we have hours of testimony from multiple speakers on each side, then a brief committee debate and vote.
Instead, let’s have a gay couple briefly tell their story. Have them talk about their love, the challenges they face as parents, the problems they encounter because they are not allowed to marry. Opponents would have equal time to voice their concerns.
Then, instead of a debate, the Judiciary Committee could break past the heated rhetoric on the issue with a candid discussion, conducted in a civil tone. Discussions help to inform and educate people. With all of the divisiveness over gay marriage, a civil discussion might bring people closer together.
Paul Thissen notes that he’s actually got some legislation that protected same-sex couples passed recently:
Sexual Orientation: Minnesotans should be able to marry and live with the individual he or she loves. And I am confident that the majority of Minnesotans believe we should all have equal access to the legal and personal benefits of the institution of marriage. In the 2009 session, I was proud to have carried and passed a Project 515 legislative initiative that solidified homeowner rights among same-sex couples. As governor, I will sign legislation that gives religious organizations, not the state, the power to choose whether or not they can conduct state-recognized same-sex marriages.
Thissen talks about equal rights in this campaign video:
Tom Emmer is the only Republican with anti-gay content:
Marriage
I believe marriage is the union between one man and one woman. As a legislator, I have consistently supported the constitutional marriage amendment that protects traditional marriage.
Harley Swarm is running under the Constitution Party which does not like gays at all:
We stand against so-called “sexual orientation” and “hate crime” statutes that attempt to legitimize inappropriate sexual behavior and to stifle public resistance to its expression. We oppose government funding of “partner” benefits for unmarried individuals. Finally, we oppose any legal recognition of homosexual unions.
Doug Benson has been working hard to get same-sex marriage passed in Minnesota so that he can marry his partner of more than 20 years. When he showed up at the Blue State Bash on Saturday night with a banner asking House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher if she would push for a hearing on same-sex marriage, he was told he was not welcome.
The Blue State Bash is a party for DFLers held each year by the local Air America affiliate AM 950. The party includes a lot of big names in politics, including Kelliher, who besides being the Speaker is also running for governor. She also represents a district with the highest number of LGBT people in the state: Uptown north of Lake Street, Lake Calhoun, Loring Park and Lake of the Isles.
Last night I decided to attend the liberal radio AM950 event, the “Blue State Bash” along with my husband and our friend Matt. We brought and quietly displayed a banner that simply urged MN Speaker of the House, Margaret Anderson-Kelliher to move on a marriage equality hearing for February 12. Before long, officials at the well-publicised event, co-sponsored by Kelliher and several other DFL gubernatorial candidates, threw us out of the building into the cold rain. We continued to hold our sign that got rave approval from passersby, until we got too cold to continue. The only public official that came to encourage us was Congressman, Keith Ellison. We asked him to bring our message to the Speaker of the House. He said that he would.
Benson is a citizen who worked to get the Marriage and Family Protection Act introduced in the Minnesota Legislature. That bill would make same-sex marriage legal. I asked Benson about the banner:
The banner wasn’t my best work. It was a compromise with more moderate voices. It read, “Margaret! Move Marriage Equality Hearing, Feb. 12.”. I don’t know if Margaret saw it or not. We only got to display it for maybe 5 minutes before we were told security people were on their way to escort us out. They told us “this is a private party.” As we were being escorted out, Duane and I held the banner behind us so it would face the party as we were walking away. Then a voice came over the escorts’ radios ordering them to fold up the banner. We were already at the stairs so I just folded it. I didn’t want them to take it away. As we were walking down the stairs the escort told us how lucky we were to “live in America where we have freedom of speech.” They wouldn’t let us stand on the public sidewalk outside the building that was covered, even though there were people there demonstrating for candidates, we had to go across the street in the rain. I think there was bias involved.
In 1993, Minnesota became the first state in the nation to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, ensuring that nobody could be fired from their job simply for being LGBT. But Pawlenty, who voted for the bill in 1993, now says that because of his evangelical Christian background, that law should be changed and Minnesotans should be explicitly allowed to discriminate against transgender people.
Pawlenty has consistently vetoed any legislation that benefits LGBT people including allowing same-sex partners to sue for wrongful death, beefing up anti-bullying policies in schools and allowing local governments to offer domestic partner benefits. In an interview with Newsweek, Pawlenty — who is widely seen as a presidential candidate for 2012 — said that he wants Minnesota to change the law to protect the children.
Let me ask you about social issues your party has been dealing with. In her book, Palin claims that McCain’s handlers wanted her to be silent about her belief in creationism. How would you describe your view?
I can tell you how we handle it in Minnesota. We leave it to the local school districts. We don’t mandate a curriculum or an approach. We allow for something called “intelligent design” to be discussed as a comparative theory. It doesn’t have to be in science class.
Where are you personally?
Well, you know I’m an evangelical Christian. I believe that God created everything and that he is who he says he was. The Bible says that he created man and woman; it doesn’t say that he created an amoeba and then they evolved into man and woman. But there are a lot of theologians who say that the ideas of evolution and creationism aren’t necessarily inconsistent; that he could have “created” human beings over time.
I know you are opposed to gay marriage, but what about medical benefits for same-sex couples?
I have not supported that.
Why not?
My general view on all of this is that marriage is to be defined as being a union of a man and a woman. Marriage should be elevated in our society at a special level. I don’t think all domestic relationships are the equivalent of traditional marriage. Early on we decided as a country and as a state that there was value in a man and a woman being married in terms of impact on children and the like, and we want to encourage that.
To borrow a phrase, have your views evolved over time?
In 1993 I voted for a bill prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodation, housing, and employment. That was 16 years ago.
Yes, gay-rights activists regarded you as a pretty cool guy at the time.
We overbaked that statute, for a couple of reasons. If I had to do it over again I would have changed some things.
Overbaked?
That statute is not worded the way it should be. I said I regretted the vote later because it included things like cross-dressing, and a variety of other people involved in behaviors that weren’t based on sexual orientation, just a preference for the way they dressed and behaved. So it was overly broad. So if you are a third-grade teacher and you are a man and you show up on Monday as Mr. Johnson and you show up on Tuesday as Mrs. Johnson, that is a little confusing to the kids. So I don’t like that.
Has the law been changed?
No. It should be, though.
So you want to protect kids against cross-dressing elementary-school teachers. Do you have any in Minnesota?
Probably. We’ve had a few instances, not exactly like that, but similar.
The employment Non-Discrimination Act was heard for the first time in its 14-year history at a Senate hearing last week. Sen. Al Franken, who sits on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, had moving words about the importance of making employment discrimination based on sexual orientation illegal and praised Minnesota’s pioneering role in banning such discrimination.
Here’s a video of his remarks at the committee:
And the transcript:
Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding today’s hearing on this important topic, and thank you to all of today’s witnesses for sharing your expertise.
In preparing for today’s hearing, I reviewed all of the witness statements, and tried to familiarize myself with the ins and outs of the technical definitions, Title VII, the exemptions, and everything else. But at some point, I paused to reflect on this: today, in 2009, in our country, it’s still perfectly legal to fire someone because they’re gay. You can be a hard worker, show up on time, and get exemplary performance reviews, but if your boss discovers that you’re gay or transgender, they can fire you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Growing up, my kids would read in their history textbooks about a time in our country when it was perfectly legal to fire somebody, or refuse to hire somebody, because they were black, or because they were a woman. For them, it was a concept they couldn’t really understand.
I hope that my future grandkids will only read about when it was legal to fire someone who’s gay—not ever actually see it.
Now, most Minnesotans attend religious services every week. Minnesota is home to 19 Fortune 500 companies. Minnesotans enjoy a very high standard of living. So it might surprise some of you that the Minnesota Human Rights Act was passed in 1993. This law protects workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This law has been protecting workers from discrimination for fifteen years, and Minnesota’s sky has not fallen. Minnesota is basically the same as it was before this law was passed with only one small exception—about 20 or so people per year exercise their rights under this law after they are discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Today, we have a chance to extend the same commonsense protections to every American worker by passing ENDA. So thank you again, Chairman Harkin, for calling this crucial hearing.
Franken also questioned the panelists, only one of whom was opposed to ENDA:
Thirteen years in the making, Matthew Shepherd and James Byrd finally get their due. In a ceremony at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, President Obama signed a bill into law, named after the two men, that added crimes based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability to the federal list of hate crimes.
Shepherd and Byrd were brutally murdered in separate incidents in 1998: Shepherd because he was gay, and Byrd because he was African-American.
The bill adds the possibility of additional punishment for someone found guilty of killing or causing serious harm to another person based on any of these attributes, which was previously limited to crimes based on race, religion, national origin, or ethnicity. Most importantly, though, US hate crimes law gives the Justice Department the ability to step in, and conduct their own investigation if local authorities are either unwilling or unable to look into a hate crime, or provide local authorities with assistance. In addition, under programs set up by the legislation, grants are available to help local law enforcement agencies combat youth violence and train officers to deal with these kinds of crimes.
The bill was first introduced in 1996 by the late Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), but only passed this year after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pushed for the bill to be amended to a “must-pass” Pentagon budget bill.
“After more than a decade, we have passed inclusive hate crimes legislation,” said President Obama. “I promised Judy and Dennis Shepard [parents of Matthew Shepherd] that this day would come and I’m glad they could join us for this event.”
(Thanks to Andy Birkey for watching this event live)
In a poll released by SurveyUSA and KSTP on Monday, 52 percent of Minnesotans said they agreed with President Obama’s position that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. 42 percent said they disagreed with the president and 6 percent were not sure. It marks the first time a survey …
The Southeastern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted on Friday to oppose the proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution that would limit marriage to heterosexual couples only. It joins the Minneapolis and Northeastern synods in opposing the amendment. The St. Paul area synod is expected to …
The city of Golden Valley voted to support a resolution Tuesday night that opposes the anti-gay marriage amendment that will be on the Minnesota ballot in 2012. The vote was 4 ayes, zero nays and one abstention. Golden Valley will become the 7th Minnesota city to reject the amendment. The …
The Northeast Minnesota synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America passed a resolution on Saturday to oppose the anti-gay marriage amendment that will be on the Minnesota ballot in November. It became the second of six synods in Minnesota to oppose the amendment. About one in four Minnesotans are …
Already being slightly enlightened about sexual identity and gender expression, the burning question I had going in to this year’s BECAUSE conference was this: “What is Pansexuality?” After dialog with many individuals my take away is this: Pansexuality for many individuals relates to the attraction to and potential for sexual …
Muffins: We are never at a loss for great entertainment in Minneapolis! This weekend my top two picks go to low budget options. Both Box Wine Theater’s production of Tom and Kelly Adopt and Asian Baby and Durang Durang starring Julie Dafydd as Sister Mary Ignatius are well worth venturing out …
On the Second Ward blog, Minneapolis City Council member Cam Gordon announced his support for a fair, transparent and speedy trial for CeCe McDonald, a transgender woman accused of murder. Many in the community view her case as one of self-defense against a hate crime and are concerned that, CeCe, …
Minnesotans United for All Families is out with a web-ad campaign and petition to put pressure on the National Organization for Marriage to disclose its donors in Minnesota. NOM is notorious for shielding its donors through lawsuits and other legal action in at least a half-dozen states.
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