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ACLU says Hennepin County’s restrictions on Occupy MN ‘run afoul’ of 1st Amendment

By Jon Collins | 11.03.11 | 3:15 pm

The letter argues against Hennepin County’s new rules on Occupy MN, saying they run “afoul” of the First Amendment.

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Religious, political groups criticize Bradlee Dean prayer

By Andy Birkey | 05.23.11 | 2:21 pm

In the wake of Bradlee Dean’s controversial prayer before the Minnesota House on Friday, a number of religious and political groups condemned Dean and urged Republican leaders to disavow Dean’s prayer and his association with the House. The Minnesota Catholic Conference, which supports a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, said that Dean should not be associated with their movement. The ACLU, the DFL, the National Organization for Marriage, Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak and several legislators all weighed in on the controversy over the weekend.

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ACLU seeks stop to Northfield school’s censoring of LGBT web content

By Andy Birkey | 05.04.11 | 11:33 am

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota is demanding that the Northfield School District stop filtering LGBT internet content on the district’s computers. Calling it unconstitutional, the group sent a letter to the district calling for a halt to the filtering as well as a data practices request to identify how the filters got put into place. The move is part of the ACLU’s broader “Don’t Filter Me” project to prevent filtering of LGBT content.

Photo: Steve Rhodes, Flickr

During abortion hearing, Cornish calls pastor, ACLU ‘disgusting’

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By Andy Birkey | 04.22.11 | 2:43 pm

Last week’s House Judiciary Policy and Finance hearing on a bill that would ban taxpayer funding for abortion erupted into anger when Republican Rep. Tony Cornish of Good Thunder called a poem read by a United Church of Christ pastor “disgusting,” a term he also used for the American Civil Liberties Union.

ACLU of Minnesota issues travel alert for Arizona

By Andy Birkey | 06.30.10 | 1:02 pm

The ACLU of Minnesota issued a travel alert Wednesday for Minnesotans planning to travel to Arizona over the July 4 weekend. It issued the advisory in response to Arizona’s new immigration law, SB 1070, which directs police to check citizenship…

Democrats divided on Patriot Act

By Daphne Eviatar | 10.08.09 | 8:50 am

Republicans and Democrats have been sniping about the USA Patriot Act ever since Congress passed the law in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks to try to forestall another such disaster. But now, it’s the Democrats who are sniping among themselves about it.

Evangelical treatment program gets $2.4 million from state

By Andy Birkey | 09.22.09 | 11:32 am

A former crack user says she kicked her addiction because she found Jesus at Minnesota Teen Challenge. A man says that God healed his liver after a prayer service at the Christian drug treatment facility. While its clients sing its praises — some claiming it saved their lives — should such an overtly religious program be receiving taxpayer funding? According to state records, MNTC has gotten more than $2 million from the state of Minnesota since 2007.

Bachmann on school prayer: ACLU trying to ‘purge’ religious expression from ‘marketplace of ideas’

By Andy Birkey | 09.16.09 | 4:41 pm

michele-bachmannRep. Michele Bachmann took to the House floor to defend school prayer on Tuesday, after two Florida school employees allegedly violated a court order against prayer during a teacher’s…

Lacking ‘magnetism,’ Pawlenty gets props from the right — for unallotment

By Paul Schmelzer | 08.11.09 | 11:07 am

pawlentyskyIn a fawning new profile, The American Spectator trumpets Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s early efforts to secure the 2012 GOP nomination for president. While acknowledging that some dismiss T-Paw as “too vanilla” and citing his “lack of magnetism,”…

ACLU suit against TIZA moves forward

By Andy Birkey | 07.22.09 | 7:52 am

tiza_schoolA court ruled Tuesday that the Minnesota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU-MN) can sue Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), Islamic Relief and state education commissioner Alice…