Minnesota Independent

Religious right lawyers defend Anoka-Hennepin schools’ LGBT policy

By Andy Birkey | 06.30.11 | 11:23 am

Lawyers for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a national conservative Christian legal organization, sent a letter to the Anoka-Hennepin School District this week urging it to maintain its “neutrality policy” on sexual orientation. The letter comes in response to a possible lawsuit by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Council for Lesbian Rights, two groups that have accused the district of creating an unsafe environment for LGBT students. The ADF argues that no changes are needed in the district, which has seen a spike in student suicides, including among LGBT students.

National groups demand Anoka Hennepin School District address bullying

By Andy Birkey | 05.25.11 | 11:10 am

The Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights sent a letter to the Anoka Hennepin School District on Tuesday demanding that the school district abandon its “neutrality policy,” which bars discussion of LGBT issues in district schools, and step up efforts to address bullying and harassment.

Paige Moravetz and Haylee Fentress. Source: TODAY

Double suicide in western Minnesota puts bullying back in spotlight

By Andy Birkey | 04.22.11 | 6:00 am

Two 14-year old girls committed suicide last week in Marshall, Minn., and the evidence suggests they’d been bullied. Relatives of Haylee Fentress and Paige Moravetz told Meredith Viera of the TODAY Show that the girls may have been more than just friends. Fentress had hyphenated her last name on Facebook to include Moravetz’s last name, and Fentress had been expelled from school recently for defending Paige in a fight. The pair’s deaths add to a growing list of suicides in Minnesota and around the country where bullying is suspected to have played a factor.

Mark Dayton advocates marriage equality for same-sex couples

By Andy Birkey | 04.15.11 | 12:53 pm

“I stand with you,” was the message Gov. Mark Dayton had for LGBT advocates on Thursday afternoon at OutFront Minnesota’s LGBT Lobby Day at the Minnesota Capitol. Dayton was the first sitting governor to address the annual rally, which has been held for more than a decade. Dayton said he will block any efforts to curtail LGBT equality.

GOP rejects anti-bullying measure

By Andy Birkey | 04.01.11 | 1:06 pm

As the Minnesota Senate debated a K-12 education budget bill on Thursday, Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) offered an amendment that would strengthen the state’s anti-bullying laws. The proposal would instruct school districts to set up trainings for staff — from teachers to bus drivers — on how to handle bullying. The bill was defeated on a party line vote, with Republicans voting against it.

Franken contributes to ‘It Gets Better’ book

By Andy Birkey | 03.23.11 | 2:41 pm

Sen. Al Franken is a contributor to a book urging LGBT youth not to commit suicide because of bullying. “It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living,” by columnist Dan Savage contains an essay by Franken as well as fellow politicians President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, British Prime Minister David Cameron and celebrities Perez Hilton, Ellen Degeneres and Suze Orman. The book is based on a video project of the same name in which thousands of people have lent their voice in support of LGBT youth.

Rep. Jared Polis, D-CO, and U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-MN, at a Mar. 10 press conference

Franken, Colorado’s Polis introduce anti-bullying legislation

By Scot Kersgaard | 03.11.11 | 8:51 am

Sen. Al Franken and Rep. Jared Polis, D-CO, held a press conference Thursday to announce the reintroduction of legislation that would help protect public school students from bullying, harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Also attending the press conference were Wendy Walsh, whose 13-year-old son, Seth, took his own life after being bullied at school and Ellen Kahn from the Human Rights Campaign.

Alexandria teen’s death ruled suicide, friends say bullying was a factor

By Andy Birkey | 03.08.11 | 7:49 am

An Alexandria, Minn., teen’s death has been ruled a suicide following conflicting reports about about the cause of death. KSAX reports that Lance Lundsten died on Jan. 17 from a “mixed drug ingestion.” Fellow students have speculated that he was bullied at Jefferson High School over his sexual orientation and have organized the Jefferson Anti-Bully Coalition.

Protesters at a Feb. 2011 Anoka-Hennepin School Board meeting. Photo: Alec Lindsey

Tempers flare over anti-gay bullying at Anoka-Hennepin school board meeting

By Andy Birkey | 03.01.11 | 8:54 am

“If they are going to hell, I’m going to hell with them!” That interjection got one woman kicked out Monday night’s Anoka-Hennepin School Board meeting. Her statement came during the testimony of a conservative Christian parent who said she knows the “homosexual agenda” is “coming after our kids.” The exchange was part of a tense night of testimony over the district’s bullying policies and whether LGBT issues should be discussed in classrooms in Minnesota’s largest school district.

Acknowledging long odds, legislators offer anti-bullying bill

By Andy Birkey | 02.28.11 | 11:46 am

A bill that would direct school boards to adopt stringent anti-bullying policies was introduced in the Minnesota Senate on Monday. The bill would add disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and several other characteristics to existing anti-bullying policies. Minnesota, and in particular the Anoka-Hennepin School District, has been at the center of the anti-bullying debate after a spike in student suicides where bullying is believed to have been a factor.