GLBT

President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard Act into law on Wednesday ending a decade of efforts by LGBT and human rights groups to get sexual orientation and gender identity included in federal hate crime laws.

With just under a week until the Maplewood city elections, the quirky politics of the suburb just north of St. Paul have taken some interesting turns. Dueling fliers that some residents have found “racist and homophobic” and a 911 recording of a candidate allegedly threatening a neighbor are among the more noteworthy occurrences.

The U.S. Senate passed the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act on Thursday with the controversial Matthew Shepard Act attached. The act would add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal hate crimes laws. The bill now heads to the desk of President Obama, who at last week’s Human Rights Campaign dinner promised LGBT advocates he’d [...]

When Maplewood city council candidate Jim Llanas told the Minnesota Independent this summer, “Brace yourself. It’s just going to get ugly,” he wasn’t far off the mark. An anonymous flier being distributed about Llanas, who would be both the first openly gay and the first Hispanic city council member in the city’s history, is being described as racist and homophobic by a progressive group and a city council member.

While Rep. Michele Bachmann eventually backed off her infamous statement about “un-American views” she feared Barack Obama held, she’s standing by someone with sharper views. Next month, she’s headlining a fundraiser for Bradlee Dean’s Christian punk rock band and ministry, You Can Run But You Cannot Hide. Here’s a rundown of his recent statements, including his belief that Obama is “not American” and “unpatriotic to the max.”

Rep. Michele Bachmann is one of about 50 Republican members of Congress calling for the firing of Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. The letter objects to Jennings’ “promotion of homosexuality” and accuses Jennings of violating “mandatory reporter” requirements. But the letter, penned by Iowa Rep. [...]

WASHINGTON — Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) has brought 52 fellow Republicans together — including Rep. Michele Bachmann — on a letter demanding the resignation of Kevin Jennings, the White House’s “safe schools czar.” Greg Sargent looks at the text of the letter, and how it maintains (wrongly) that Jennings covered up child sexual abuse.

The White House announced Tuesday that President Obama has nominated Sharon Lubinski, Minneapolis’ Assistant Chief of Police, as the U.S. Marshal for the District of Minnesota. Lubinski is also one of the first — if not the first — openly gay person to be nominated for the position.

The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, attached to a large military policy bill, passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday by a vote of 281 to 146 — with support from Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen and opposition from Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson. Next Monday is the 11th anniversary of the murder of 21-year-old college [...]

Faith leaders from several faith traditions gathered at the Capitol in St. Paul on Thursday afternoon to speak out in support of marriage rights for gays and lesbians in Minnesota.