After Indiana, Minneapolis council calls on states to adopt LGBT protections

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 Earlier this month, the Minneapolis City Council adopted a resolution that originally would have banned city-funded travel to Indiana, but quickly changed it to a resolution calling on Indiana and 27 other states to adopt protections for LGBT people.Council President Barb Johnson was planning to offer a resolution that would have stopped city employees from traveling to Indiana on the city’s payroll due to that state’s new “religious freedom” law. A copy of that resolution can be found here: [PDF]. However, on Thursday, Indiana’s legislature passed, and Gov. Mike Pence signed, an amendment that for the first time in Indiana’s history offers some protection for LGBT people. The amendment keeps intact nondiscrimination laws in Indiana municipalities, but does not extend nondiscrimination across the state.The changes to the religious freedom law states that the statute does not:(1) authorize a provider to refuse to offer or provide services, facilities, use of public accommodations, goods, employment, or housing to any member of the general public on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or United States military service; (2) establish a defense to a civil action or criminal prosecution for refusal to provide such services; or (3) negate any rights available under the constitution of the State of IndianaJohnson offered a substitute resolution on Friday that acknowledges the change to Indiana’s law, but also criticizes it for not going far enough.It says [PDF]:Whereas, the State of Indiana, along with twenty-seven other states in the nation, offer no protections in housing, employment, and public accommodations to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens, leaving these people exposed to discrimination in a variety of ways everyday of their lives;Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved by The City Council of The City of Minneapolis: That the Minneapolis City Council hereby affirms the City’s commitment to civil rights and ensuring equity for all people in Minneapolis and beyond and calls on the State of Indiana as well as the other twenty-seven states in the nation which offer no protections in housing, employment, and public accommodations to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens, to establish this group of people as a protected class and put into place these protections as quickly as possible and to then vigorously enforce and protect the civil rights of all people within their borders regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected class status and to prevent discrimination against any protected group.Minneapolis city attorney Susan Segal explained the changes:“With this addition to the law, I think that it largely corrects the concerns and objections that have been raised nationally. There still is not affirmative protections in Indiana law but that’s the situation that was before they passed the statute,” she told the council. Continue Reading

Check out these LGBT-themed films at the MSP Int’l Film Festival

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The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival kicks off on Thursday with over 200 films from 70 countries spanning two weeks of showings. The festival has a number of LGBT-themed films being screened. Here are trailers for those films:52 TUESDAYS16-year-old Billie’s reluctant path to independence is accelerated when her mother reveals plans for gender reassignment and their time together becomes limited to Tuesday afternoons. Filmed over the course of a year, once a week, every week—only on Tuesdays—these unique filmmaking rules bring a rare authenticity to this emotionally charged story of desire, responsibility and transformation. Continue Reading

MN GOP Majority Leader backs anti-transgender bill

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The majority leader in the Minnesota House is among 28 Republicans who have signed on to a bill that would block transgender inclusive school policies.Republican Majority Leader Joyce Peppin signed on to the bill on Monday. She is among more than a dozen Republicans who have added their names to the bill since it was introduced in early March by 17 Republicans.The bill is one being touted by anti-LGBT groups, the Minnesota Child Protection League and the Minnesota Family Council. The bill is a reaction to recent policies enacted in the Minneapolis and St. Paul school districts that increases safety and inclusion for transgender and gender nonconforming students. It is also a reaction to an appeals process put in place by the Minnesota State High School League that allows transgenders student to play on athletics teams based on their gender.Bill proponents missed an important deadline on Friday. Continue Reading

Comic Books from the Margins

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Comic Books from the Margins on Vimeo. Presented by Gazillion Strong, Big Brain Comics, Moon Palace Books, Boneshaker Books, Ancestry Books, and Ramsey County Libraries, these series of workshops is aimed at teens and pre-teens. each bookstore and library will select comic books and graphic novels in which the central character(s) are from marginalized communities, such as the POC (people of color), LGBTQ, adoptee, foster care, and disabled communities. The books will be presented to preteens, teens, and their families by knowledgeable authors, activists, performers, and comic book connoisseurs.Comic Books from the Margins series gives an opportunity to people to tell their stories, and pick out books that are reflective of their culture.”We want different kinds of narratives,” said Ancestry Books owner Chaun Webster. “That don’t reduce us to these small, tokenistic stereotypes.”Future Comic Books from the Margins will be held at Boneshaker Books, the Minnesota History Center and Big Brain Comics. Check out Gazillion Strong’s website for more informationhttp://www.wearegazillionstrong.org/comics-from-the-margins/ Continue Reading

MN GOPers tout anti-transgender bills in emails to constituents

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In emails to constituents, Republicans are seeking to drum up support for a bill that would bar school from adopting transgender inclusive policies and would repeal a policy by the Minnesota State High School League that allows transgender students to participate in high school sports based on gender.Many of the Republican lawmakers are touting a mysterious poll conducted by Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies, and paid for by an anti-LGBT group, the Minnesota Child Protection League. The Column has repeatedly sought information about the poll including methodology and specific language that was asked of those participating in the poll. The Minnesota Child Protection League has refused to respond to multiple inquiries.Below are excerpts from emails sent to constituents that were obtained by The Column. We will continue to update the list as more are identified.Sen. Paul Gazelka (PDF version):Reinforcing our children’s safety and privacy at school On Monday, Senate Republicans introduced the “Student Safety and Physical Privacy Act” to address serious concerns regarding a controversial new policy from the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL).Last December, the MSHSL issued a new ruling allowing transgender students to play on a sports team other than the team of the student’s biological sex. In effect, it allows male students who identify as female to play on female sports teams. The ruling was met with resistance from parents and families who were worried about what effect it would have on locker room and shower situations, and how the ruling would impact private and nonpublic schools. Continue Reading

Barb Anderson: Gay-Straight Alliances are used by LGBTs to recruit heterosexuals

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[See original article here: http://thecolu.mn/15904/barb-anderson-gay-straight-alliances-are-used-by-lgbts-to-recruit-heterosexuals]At a meeting of the Anoka-Hennepin School Board on Monday evening, Barb Anderson, a leader in Minnesota’s anti-LGBT movement, told the board that Gay-Straight Alliances are recruiting centers for the homosexual lifestyle, that they are dangerous to students, and that the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, which assist with GSAs, encouraged statutory rape.Anderson said, “GSAs typically begin with a focus on safety and bullying prevention but their scope soon expands, GSA students often become political lobbyists who advocate specific pro-gay legislation and policy changes in our in our schools. Student activists from GSAs are taught how to recruit other students.”The board was hearing a recommendation from the district’s anti-bullying task force that urges the district to include positive portrayals of LGBT people in history, support Gay-Straight Alliance, and celebrate LGBT history month in an effort to make the district more inclusive for LGBT students.She continued, “The American College of Pediatricians has warned schools about the danger of premature labeling of students as gay because it can lead some kids into homosexual behaviors, behaviors which data on the CDC website shows to be exceptionally dangerous. GSAs will draw more confused and questioning youth into gay experimentation. A homosexual club is not a position of neutrality but is a danger to the health and the future of kids in District 11.”The American College of Pediatricians is a small group of conservative Christian pediatricians that split from the American Academy of Pediatricians over abortion and LGBT issues. The group poses as a large professional organization but is composed of just a few hundred members who espouse an anti-LGBT agenda, compared to the mainstream American Academy of Pediatricians which boasts 60,000 members.Anderson also claimed, without citing evidence, that the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, which supports GSAs, advocates statutory rape. Continue Reading

Demands by Whose Diversity? aren’t new

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[See original post here: http://www.mndaily.com/opinion/letters-editor/2015/02/23/demands-whose-diversity-aren%E2%80%99t-new]It’s clear. Many in this administration are out of touch with the weight of the equity and diversity issues they extol. In a speech to the North Hennepin Area Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 13, 2014, University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler stated, “I want to speak about serious matters — from student debt to how we seek to tackle some of the state’s and world’s grand challenges — from widespread hunger to the inexcusable achievement gap in our schools. But I do need to put first things first … Continue Reading

Minneapolis vigil planned to shed light on anti-transgender violence

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Loring Park in downtown Minneapolis will be the setting for a vigil on Thursday evening to bring attention to an epidemic of violence against transgender women in the United States.As many as eight transgender women have been murdered in the United States since the start of 2015, a rate of more than one a week. Most of those victims have been women of color.On Tuesday, the community in Miami was shocked by the death of artist of Kristina Grant Infiniti. On Thursday, the community held a candlelight vigil to remember Infiniti who police believe was murdered in her home.Though many cases are still under investigation, news reports suggest that the following transgender women have been murdered so far this year: Bri Golec of Akron Ohio; Penny Proud of New Orleans; Lamia Beard of Norfolk, Virginia; Taja Gabrielle DeJesus of San Francisco; Ty Underwood of North Tyler, Texas; Yazmin Vash Payne of Los Angeles;The Human Rights Campaign notes: “In addition to these murders, Lamar Edwards – whom LGBT friends have confirmed to The Advocate uses the name Lamar and identified as a gay man who sometimes dressed in drag – was fatally shot on January 9; police have not released information about whether Edwards was presenting as female at the time of death.”This epidemic of violence has prompted a vigil in Minneapolis to draw attention to that violence and to remember those who have been killed. “Join those of us from the Black Liberation Project as we honor and uplift the sisters we have lost to racist and transmisogynistic hate violence,” event organizers wrote. “This vigil serves as an act of remembrance and an act of defiance to a system that wants to keep these deaths invisible.”Details:Title: #StopTransMurders VigilDate: Thursday, February 26 at 5:30pm – 6:30pmLocation: Loring Park, 1382 Willow St, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403For more information, visit Facebook. Continue Reading