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The national debate about gay rights hit home in the small community of Pine City, Minn., on Sunday as residents hosted two dueling picnics in the city of 3,000 people. For the fifth year, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from east-central Minnesota gathered to celebrate family and community. And for the second year, their neighbors organized a picnic just blocks away opposing gay rights and promoting “family values.”
Several hundred LGBT Minnesotans arrived for food and live music at the VFW hall at Voyageur Park in the north end of town. The theme, “We Are Family,” was a nod to the notion that LGBT people are part of the fabric of the larger Pine City community.
“A family is not only one of inclusion, but of values of hard work, respect for others, love and commitment, along with a sense of belonging to the greater community of East Central Minnesota,” said Don Quaintance one of the picnic organizers.
The event, Pine City Pride, is one of only two known rural LGBT pride events in the country, serving as an important networking and community-building opportunity for LGBT people living in rural Minnesota.
This year same-sex marriage was the hot topic as four states, including Iowa to the south, have made same-sex marriage legal. OutFront Minnesota was at the picnic providing education on — and gathering support for — a campaign to bring marriage equality to Minnesota within the next three years, by which time the state will have a new governor; only days earlier Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who had stymied many efforts to pass LGBT legislation, announced he would not be running again.
“There’s going to be a lot of changes in Minnesota,” said Sen. Rick Olseen, a DFLer who represents the district. “It’s time to be really active and support a governor that supports equality.”
An early-announced candidate to replace Pawlenty on the DFL ticket, Sen. John Marty gave a rousing speech.
Marty said he’s fighting for full marriage rights for same-sex couples, and nothing less — such as civil unions — would be acceptable.
“I don’t care what [Rep.] Michele Bachmann and her ilk like to call it. We call it gay marriage,” said Marty. “I don’t want to tell anyone else what to call their relationship… A same-sex marriage is not hurting anybody else. And that’s one of the reasons I’m running for governor.”
He added that it took “hateful people like Michele Bachmann” to rally Minnesotans against the LGBT community.
Only four blocks away in Robinson Park, a “pro-family picnic” was being held in response to Pine City Pride.
“The GLBT picnic is being brought in by groups from around the state. If you go to their Facebook group, you can find people asking to be bused in from Minneapolis,” said Abe Mach, pro-family picnic organizer and director of the Pine City Republicans. “These aren’t the values of our community, and we want to make that clear. We do not want to this to become the defining event of our city.”
Mach said on a Facebook page for the event that he sees the LGBT picnic as an assault on Pine City families.
“The attack on traditional family values is coming from radical homosexuals desiring to introduce their lifestyle to kids in order present an alternative to the natural heterosexual lifestyles they are born into,” he told critics. “We simply want to be able to protect our children and families from what we believe to be a negative influence.”
Despite the invective, the pro-family picnic was a subdued affair. Children sang gospel songs and at least one politician spoke.
Rudy Takala, a Republican running for the State House district around Pine City, urged attendees to send letters to their elected officials opposing rights for same-sex couples.
“We can make them fear this time of year if we send them letters,” he said.
A lone pro-family activist made his way over to the LGBT event. He wielded a large sign that read, “Where will you spend eternity? With God or Satan?” and shouted Bible verses at the crowd.
Sen. Marty acknowledged the detractors.
“We aren’t going to allow their hate to ruin our day. This is the pro-family picnic, not the one on the other side,” he said. “I’m glad to stand with you on this bitterly cold June day. It’s a cold day, but there are a lot of warm hearts. Thanks you for standing up for your community in Pine City.”
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13 Comments »
Comment posted June 9, 2009 @ 12:28 am
God bless Senator John Marty!
Comment posted June 9, 2009 @ 10:29 am
I was at the LGBT picnic. What a radical crowd! I don’t recall anyone being “bused in” however. Boy those people are ridiculous.
Comment posted June 9, 2009 @ 11:09 am
At no time did I say that the LGBT picnic was “an assault on Pine City families.” The “assault” on traditional family values comes from people in the LGBT movement that seek to introduce their lifestyle to our children in public schools and silence the opposition to their views coming from our religious leaders. This is a moral and spiritual assault, not a physical assault.
What we are dealing with, those on the side of traditional family values, is an attempt to pervert our freedom of speech and of religion. In the eyes of the LGBT movement, our speech should be pleasing to them, not us, and our religion should change to suit their beliefs and abandon the fundamental beliefs and morals our predecessors have embraced for thousands of years. Compromised morals become no standards at all by which the individual can conduct their life. Compromising our beliefs is not an option.
Finally, I would like to say that our picnic was not in opposition to the right of the LGBT group to assemble and state their beliefs. At this time, I don’t know of any inappropriate acts that took place to “shock” the public, as is witnessed in some “gay pride” parades that would fall into the realm of indecent exposure. Also, the “traditional family values” supporters do not only see homosexuality as harmful to society, but also opposes abortion, pornography, and embryonic stem cell research. At our Pro Family Picnic there were no hateful statements made toward the LGBT community. If there are people who were offended, it is their right to be offended but our right to offend. “Offensive speech must be protected, polite speech needs no protection,” stated Michael Savage, and I agree with him completely.
Thank you, Andy Birkey, for covering our event, even if your journalism is not objective and fair. It validates that our event was a success that demanded attention.
Sincerely,
Abraham Mach
Comment posted June 9, 2009 @ 11:31 am
I’m guessing that if someone had taken the initiative to check, most, if not all of the people attending the gay rights “picnic” would be found to have “612″ or “651″ area codes.
We don’t care what the proponants of perversion call it, we call it invasion.
Comment posted June 9, 2009 @ 12:10 pm
I’m amazed at the level of forthrightness John Marty brings to Minnesota politics. He is way out in front of all the other politicians in the state. I like his leadership on this and other issues. Gay marriage is coming to Minnesota. It is inevitable. The previous comment demonstrates it, although he opposes gay marriage. His opposition is based in concerns that fall apart with education. He’s saying, if I understand correctly, that legalizing gay marriage will somehow take away his freedom of religous practice and to think what he wants to think. Laws don’t and can’t govern religious practice, and they don’t and can’t govern speech and thought. They don’t and can’t because the Constitution protects speech, thought, and religious practice.
Comment posted June 9, 2009 @ 5:11 pm
The organizers of the local pride have taken a pin tally at each of the five events. The vast majority of attendees are from East Central Minnesota (the Mora, Pine City, Cambridge, Hinckley and North Branch areas).
Where the idea that it is not a local event comes from is beyond me. The fact that “outsiders” choose to attend is a complement to the event. Moreover, many that live in the Twin Cities NOW came from SMALL TOWN Minnesota (places like Pine City) and can relate to the difficulties being gay in a smaller community. I met someone this year who now lives in St. Paul but that grew up in Pine City.
If someone from area code 651 or 320 were to attend Freedom Fest or the Pine County Fair, would we turn them away? We haven’t made this our practice, YET.
Comment posted June 10, 2009 @ 11:25 am
I’m so proud to work for Senator John Marty, and I’ll be just as proud to call him our Governor! This is exactly the type of courage, values, vision and bold leadership we need in the Governor’s Office. Please join the Marty for MN Movmenet, let’s make sure we get this great leader elected next year.
Comment posted June 10, 2009 @ 12:44 pm
John Marty’s quotes in this article make me so happy! We need politicians that are not fearful of political judgment who stand up for whats right! I strongly support his candidacy for Governor! I can’t wait to be proud of the man in the Governor’s office when he’s there, uniting MN, making it once again the best state in the country.
Comment posted June 10, 2009 @ 1:28 pm
Thank you Sen. John Marty. Our family enjoyed working with you in the past, and is looking forward to working with you as Governor.
Comment posted June 11, 2009 @ 12:59 am
I’m a little puzzled by concern on the part of some Pine County residents about “morality”.
Some of the highly-moral folks in Pine County broke into my grandparents’ house near Willow River a while back, stole furniture, ripped copper wire out of the house and generally vandalized and destroyed the place. At the time, there was a rash of this kind of vandalism and theft in Pine County by these virtuous non-city folks who do NOT have 612 or 651 area codes. And also at the time, there was nobody in the county sheriff’s office who could be bothered to do anything about it.
Comment posted June 12, 2009 @ 1:11 am
The only one spouting off about morality that I’ve been able to tell is the pro-family picnic organizer, Abe Mach, who’s not even a Pine Countian, according to his Facebook (Sioux Falls, SD network). Then he goes onto say that these events shouldn’t define “our” community. Well, it seems from that Abe isn’t even from OUR community of Pine City and that he should organize these events back from wherever it is he came from. Pine City is above these childish, backwoods protests.
Comment posted October 2, 2009 @ 12:32 pm
Some of you people need to educate yourselves. Abe Mach is from Pine County. A Facebook network does not determine where someone resides. People want to protect their children from the unnecessary exposure to sexual decisions that these adults make. What is wrong with that? Our children don’t need to worry about things like that until they are old enough to understand it. When children are exposed to this sort of thing, that’s when it crosses a line. You people are missing the point – this is about protecting our children. To say that this opinion is “backwoods” is just an idiotic generalization. Go back to school!
Comment posted October 25, 2009 @ 3:10 pm
What about those of us who’d like to protect our children from a world where hate and ignorance run rampant? Why not demonstrate to your children love and compassion rather than demonstrate against human rights and the way God created people?
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