Civil/Human Rights

Democratic U.S. Reps. Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum, and James Oberstar sent a letter urging President Obama late last week urging him to use diplomatic pressure to resolve the blockade affecting Gaza. Spearheaded by Ellison and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., the letter acknowledges the difficult position facing Israel and notes that the blockade is strengthening Hamas. Fifty members of Congress, as well as a number of religious groups and denominations, have signed on to Ellison’s letter.

Democratic Reps. Tim Walz, Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum and James Oberstar are asking President Obama to publicly condemn the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2009, a bill in Uganda that could lead to capital punishment for gays and lesbians in that country. The bill is seen by observers as an outgrowth of American evangelical Christianity, specifically the [...]

The Marriage and Family Protection Act is still alive in the Minnesota Legislature, but Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, the bill’s chief author in the House, says it’s unlikely it’ll make it far this session. But with same-sex marriage legal in Iowa and domestic partnerships protected in Wisconsin, pressure is building in the DFL controlled Legislature to deliver some relationship rights for the key LGBT constituency.

Several of Minnesota’s members of Congress, as well as state Sen. Mee Moua, have condemned the forced movement of Hmong out of Thailand and into Laos where advocates say they could face discrimination and persecution.

The National Center for Transgender Equality (NTCE) slammed Gov. Pawlenty last week for his telling Newsweek that Minnesota’s laws protecting transgender people from employment discrimination should be changed. Pawlenty called the 1993 Minnesota Human Rights Act “overbaked” because “if you are a third-grade teacher and you are a man and you show up on Monday [...]

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court dealt a harsh blow on Monday to victims of abuse by U.S. officials during the “war on terror.” The court announced it would not review a federal appeals court ruling that dismissed a lawsuit by four British citizens who claim they were wrongly arrested, detained and mistreated at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. The Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington had ruled in April that government officials were entitled to “qualified immunity” from suit because it wasn’t clear at the time that abusing Guantanamo prisoners at was illegal.

At least two fliers mocking Islam have been found near Somali-oriented businesses in St. Cloud, the St. Cloud Times reported Thursday. The images included swastikas and the Muslim prophet Mohammed in sexualized situations.

A report released by the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center says that American Indian girls in Minnesota are impacted by sex trafficking at disproportionate rates.

“This has probably been the best year for Native Americans” says Tom Cole, the only person now both elected as a member of Congress and enrolled as a member of an American Indian tribe. The latest sign of success, says CQ Politics: American Indian voters helped elect Minnesota’s Al Franken.

Unsealed court documents have unleashed a wave of press about an American ring allied with a terror group in Somalia. Minneapolis “is the center of it,” the local FBI head tells the AP. “Now we should all be on guard,” he tells the Wall Street Journal. The LA Times dubs Minneapolis “the de facto capital [...]