Cathedral of St. Paul. Photo: Wikipedia

Some of Minnesota’s Catholic bishops are preparing a push against the legalization of same-sex marriage in the final two months of the 2010 campaign season. So far, most Minnesota bishops are not making their plans public, but Bishop John Quinn of the Winona Diocese gave parishioners a glimpse in a recent newsletter (PDF). “The bishops of Minnesota are alarmed by the continuing attacks on the institution of marriage, and we are taking action,” he wrote.

Quinn reports that the diocese is sending parishes a DVD that provides “more detail about the Church’s teaching on marriage and about the possible effects that a same sex marriage policy would have in our state.”

Traditional marriage is suffering attacks, he wrote, and “the most threatening now are efforts to legalize ‘same sex’ or ‘gay’ marriage, that is, marriage between two men or between two women.”

He adds, “I hope that you will become one of the thousands of Catholics who have contacted legislators and told them that marriage is a lifetime relationship between one man and one woman.”

The effort is part of a larger campaign by Minnesota’s Roman Catholic bishops. While the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis hasn’t yet responded to the Minnesota Independent’s query about its plans for the campaign, it did offer some hints to Divinity and Beyond, a Minnesota blog about religion.

Dennis McGrath, spokesman for the Diocese said, “The details are yet to be firmed up. I don’t want to talk about it just yet. This is still kind of taking shape.”

Michael Bayly of the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities, a group working to reform the Roman Catholic Church so that it is more inclusive of LGBT Catholics, said the campaign isn’t a shock.

“I’m not surprised that the Minnesota Roman Catholic bishops are planning an anti-marriage equality campaign,” he said. “The good news is that unlike five years ago, they’re now on the defensive, not the offensive.”

He said the bishops are reacting to marriage equality legislation in the last legislative session and the possibility of Minnesotans electing a governor who supports same-sex marriage. DFLer Mark Dayton and Independence party candidate Tom Horner support it, while GOPer Tom Emmer is opposed.

“Marriage equality is coming to Minnesota, and they’re clearly not happy about it,” added Bayly. “In many ways I see what they’re doing as a last ditch effort to try and get Catholic voters to turn the election away from a win for the Democrats and thus marriage equality.”

He said his group is already working on an event that will run counter to those efforts. CPCSM is bringing in Daniel Maguire, author of “Catholic Defense of Same-Sex Marriage,” to the Twin Cities on Oct. 21. The event aims to “get the word out that one can be Catholic and support marriage equality, and not all Catholics are going along with the anti-gay and anti-marriage equality rhetoric and actions of the bishops,” he said.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis brought in Maggie Gallagher earlier this year to discuss strategies for opposing gay marriage. Gallagher is a founder of the National Organization for Marriage, a group that has targeted Minnesota extensively in 2010.

And last week, Archbishop John Neinstedt renewed his call for an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution banning same-sex marriage.

“As a citizen, it is important to understand how marriage, as a union between one man and one woman, has been and continues to be an essential good for our society,” he wrote.

Justin Aaberg

Tammy Aaberg, who lost her son Justin to suicide in July, told WCCO that the climate at Anoka-Hennepin School District needed to change. Aaberg says that anti-gay bullying had a hand in Justin’s suicide. Last month the Minnesota Independent reported that as many as three LGBT teens committed suicide in the district in the last year. Aaberg says there’s an anti-gay culture in the district that must change.

“These kids, they just hate themselves. They literally feel like they want to die. So many kids are telling me this,” Aaberg told WCCO in an emotional interview.

Starting this year, the school district says it will be conducting anti-bullying trainings that include LGBT content for both staff and students.

But Aaberg and some teachers in the district told WCCO that it doesn’t go far enough. The district has a “neutrality policy” on sexual orientation that precludes teachers from talking about homosexuality (though it doesn’t seem to affect discussions of heterosexuality).

“It’s very difficult. We have a community that has widely varying opinions, and so to respect all families, as the policy says, we ask teachers to remain neutral,” said District Spokeswoman Mary Olson.

And the district is under pressure from anti-LGBT advocates who want stricter measures in place to prevent teachers and students from discussing LGBT issues in a positive light, including the possibility of having “ex-gay” therapy on campus.

State Capitol. Photo: Wikipedia

The Minnesota Family Council released poll numbers on Monday that it says shows an advantage for GOP candidate Tom Emmer when the issue of gay marriage is put before voters. Commissioned by the National Organization for Marriage, the poll shows that DFL candidate Mark Dayton has a strong lead over Emmer — 42 percent to 33 percent — until voters learn of each candidate’s position on gay marriage. Respondents then chose Emmer 42 percent to 36 percent. The poll also showed 54 percent supported marriage as “one man and one woman,” compared to 40 percent who said it could be “any two people.”

“The poll points out that Minnesotans strongly support marriage between one man and one woman, letting the people vote on a constitutional amendment, and gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer because he’s the only gubernatorial candidate who supports marriage,” said Tom Prichard, president of MFC, at a Capitol press conference. “This should serve as a wake-up call to those seeking office that people feel strongly about marriage and any attempt to redefine marriage… will be met with electoral consequences.”

The poll, conducted in late August and early September via telephone, surveyed 695 likely voters and has a margin of error of 3.8 percent. (MFC didn’t say whether the poll was conducted on landlines, cellphones or both.) Prichard didn’t know the cost of the poll, which was done by Lawrence Research.

He said his group, along with NOM, will be ramping up radio, television and mail advertisements on the issue.

“For our state, the spending will be significant… Much more than in past years.” he said. The two groups will be spending in the hundreds of thousands. “The resources will be there,” he added.

The poll differs from one released by Minnesota Public Radio in early September, which found a slight majority of respondents opposing gay marriage (51 percent to 40 percent) and nearly two thirds of Minnestons (64 percent) supportive of allowing same-sex couples to enter into legal arrangements such as civil unions. Only 30 percent opposed relationship rights for same-sex couples.

The NOM poll asked if marriage “should be redefined to be any two people regardless of gender” and found that 54 percent of people rejected that idea, while 40 percent supported it.

The initial question found Dayton leading overall, getting 42 percent to Emmer’s 33 percent with Independence Party candidate Tom Horner garnering 12 percent. Thirteen percent were undecided.

When the poll presented voters with the candidates’ positions on same-sex marriage (Dayton and Horner support it, Emmer opposes it), the numbers change to 42 percent for Emmer, 39 percent for Dayton, 9 percent for Horner, with 10 percent undecided.

When poll indicated that Dayton and Horner do not support putting a constitutional amendment on marriage on the ballot, respondents shifted, with Dayton losing three points to Emmer. Emmer stayed at 42 percent, Dayton got 36 percent, Horner remained at 9 percent, and 10 percent were still undecided.

When were asked, “Do you think the definition of marriage should be decided by the federal courts, by the Minnesota Legislature or by the voters?” the poll found that 20 percent said the federal courts, 8 percent the legislature, and 60 percent the voters, with 12 percent undecided.

Graphic for HRC's campaign

The Human Rights Campaign pledged Friday to donate $150,000 to political causes in Minnesota to offset a donation by retail giant Target to MN Forward, a political group backing GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. HRC will be donating $100,000 to WIN Minnesota, $30,000 to candidates (including Emmer’s DFL opponent Mark Dayton) and $20,000 to OutFront Minnesota. The group also said it will be ramping up its political efforts in the state because Minnesota could be the next state to allow gay marriage.

Target took considerable heat from LGBT advocates for its donation to MN Forward and, by extension, Emmer, who activists say is anti-gay. HRC asked Target to also donate to pro-LGBT causes to balance the donation but Target refused.

HRC says that its new political donations in Minnesota are as much about Target as they are about winning gay marriage in the state.

“We’ve understood long before the Target situation that Minnesota was poised, as is New York, to be the next state to win marriage equality,” HRC president Joe Solmonese told the Associated Press.

A California judge ruled Thursday that Don't Ask, Don’t Tell "infringes the fundamental rights of United States servicemembers." Photo: Soldiers Media Center, Flickr

The military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy — which bars openly gay men and women from serving in the military — was ruled unconstitutional by a judge in Riverside, Calif., Thursday evening. The suit, brought by the Log Cabin Republicans, argued that the policy violated the First and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and the judge agreed, ordering a permanent injunction against the policy. The Department of Justice has seven days to appeal the ruling.

In a 28-page decision (pdf), U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips wrote:

The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Act infringes the fundamental rights of United States servicemembers in many ways, some described above. The Act denies homosexuals serving in the Armed Forces the right to enjoy “intimate conduct” in their personal relationships. The Act denies them the right to speak about their loved ones while serving their country in uniform; it punishes them with discharge for writing a personal letter, in a foreign language, to a person of the same sex with whom they shared an intimate relationship before entering military service; it discharges them for including information in a personal communication from which an unauthorized reader might discern their homosexuality. In order to justify the encroachment on these rights, Defendants faced the burden at trial of showing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Act was necessary to significantly further the Government’s important interests in military readiness and unit cohesion. Defendants failed to meet that burden. Thus, Plaintiff, on behalf of its members, is entitled to judgment in its favor on the first claim in its First Amended Complaint for violation of the substantive due process rights guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment.

A range of groups, including some that oppose same-sex marriage, hailed the decision.

“Today’s ruling is not just a victory for the LGBT community, but for our military, our security, and for U.S. taxpayers,” Courage Campaign founder Rick Jacobs said. “Asking soldiers to lie about who they are destroys the trust on which an effective fighting force is reliant, and discrimination of any kind undermines the values that generations of Americans–including LGBT Americans–have fought and died to defend. It is our hope that the Senate will act quickly to repeal this failed policy, so that we can avoid a lengthy and costly appeals process, and get on with the business of ensuring all patriotic Americans are able to serve our country with honor and dignity.”

The Log Cabin Republicans filed the lawsuit in Oct. 2004, and it went to trial in July 2010. Executive director R. Clarke Cooper praised the ruling.

“As an American, a veteran and an Army reserve officer, I am proud the court ruled that the arcane Don’t Ask Don’t Tell statute violates the Constitution,” he said. “Today, the ruling is not just a win for Log Cabin Republican servicemembers, but all American servicemembers.”

Chad Griffin of the American Foundation for Equal Rights said:

“Today’s court decision declaring Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell unconstitutional is yet another significant and long-overdue step toward full equality for all Americans. Along with the recent federal court decisions on DOMA and Proposition 8, it is clear that our nation is moving toward the day when every American will be treated equally under the law, as is required by our Constitution.”

Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United and a former U.S. Army interrogator, was the only plaintiff named in the case. He was discharged under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

“This is an historic moment and an historic ruling for the gay military community and for the readiness and integrity of our Armed Forces,” he said. “As the only named injured party in this case, I am exceedingly proud to have been able to represent all who have been impacted and had their lives ruined by this blatantly unconstitutional policy. We are finally on our way to vindication.”

Other groups also reacted to the decision. The Human Rights Campaign released this statement:

“Today a federal judge affirmed what the vast majority of the American people know to be true – that it’s time for the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law to be sent to the dustbin of history. With this legal victory in hand, Congress is right now in a perfect position to strengthen our national security by ending a law that has discharged thousands of capable service members. With House passage already secured, the Senate can and should vote in the next few weeks to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and allow every qualified man and woman the chance to serve with honor.”

And the Stonewall Democrats:

“Today’s Federal court decision calling the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy unconstitutional on grounds that it violates gay military members’ rights to free speech, due process and open association is another nail in the coffin of the policy. We’re glad that the Federal court agrees with President Obama’s position: that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell needs to come to an end. Our Senators need to hear from their constituents demanding repeal. We also call on Senate Republicans to rise above the obstructionism they’ve been playing at for months and let a vote happen on what the vast majority of Americans want: repeal of DADT.”

And perhaps surprisingly, the National Organization for Marriage, a group opposed to relationship rights for same-sex couples, released these tweets:

“#DADT has nothing to do with the tradition of marriage between a man and a woman and everything to do with citizens’ rights.”

And:

“There is no need to prohibit gays and lesbians from openly serving in the Armed Forces. They should have the opportunity to serve.”

Photo: Dierdre Conde, Flickr

The suicides of three gay students in the state’s largest school district over the past year has brought a new sense of urgency to advocates seeking stronger anti-bullying measures. Among Minnesota’s three major-party gubernatorial candidates, only one says as governor he won’t sign anti-bullying legislation should it reach his desk.

Tom Emmer, the GOP’s endorsed candidate, told audience members at a Minnesota State Fair debate that he would not sign the Safe Schools for All bill — the same measure Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed in 2009. Advocates say it could help improve the climate in public school hallways and possibly prevent that bullying that, at times, can lead students to take their own lives. The bill would mandate trainings for teachers and administrators, but has been met with opposition by social conservatives because those workshops would include factors like sexual orientation along with gender, race, religion and disability.

The Anoka-Hennepin School District has seen seven suicides in the last year, three by gay teens. And those deaths are being attributed — at least by LGBT advocates — as a product of intolerance and bullying in the district. While the district has beefed up programs aimed at preventing bullying and suicide, advocates say school policy that bans discussion of LGBT issues hampers those efforts.

An audience member at the state fair debate asked the candidates if they would sign the Safe Schools for All bill if elected and if the bill made it to their desk (as it did for Pawlenty in 2009).

Independence Party candidate Tom Horner said, “It’s a simple question that deserves a simple answer: Yes.”

DFLer Mark Dayton recalled a story a decade ago in Rochester when a Somali student was beaten by a group of students because of his country of origin — a factor currently not included in Minnesota anti-bullying laws — and that the city came together to address bullying head on. He said he would sign the Safe Schools bill.

“We need to just make it clear,” he said: “Not in our schools. Not in our cities. Not in our state.”

Emmer took a different tack in his response. “I would have to see what it looks like,” he said, generating a round of boos from the audience.

“I’ll tell you right now, bullying is a serious issue,” he acknowledged. “You’re talking to the parent of seven kids — Jacquie and I have seven kids — we’re very, we’re very aware of what happens when a child is faced with an uncomfortable situation at school or out in a public place. But tell you what, it’s up to the parents, Jacquie and I, to educate our children, how they handle that situation. We’re the ones who have to be the front line of defense for our children. I don’t want the government doing that for us.”

But advocates who work on anti-bullying issues say that officially referencing sexual orientation, disability and national origin could prevent bullying and even the suicides that may result from it.

“Anoka-Hennepin has taken some dramatic measures recently that brings them much closer to what Safe Schools requires, but the legislation would close many of the remaining gaps and would provide codified assurance that those measures would be permanent, as well,” said Peter Gokey, a member of the Gay Equity Team (GET) that formed last year following anti-gay harassment by two district teachers.

Tom Emmer voted against the 2009 anti-bullying legislation and says he'll veto it if it comes to his desk as governor.

Safe Schools would have given some consistency to the policies followed by many Minnesota school districts and made those reflect state anti-discrimination law, says Phil Duran of OutFront Minnesota, a LGBT advocacy group that worked on the 2009 version of the bill.

“It would have brought Minnesota’s statute requiring schools to have anti-violence and harassment policies into line with the Minnesota Human Rights Act, by expanding beyond the categories of race, gender, and religion identified in the former to include categories in the latter, such as sexual orientation — which, in Minnesota, includes gender identity– and disability or national origin.”

But Gokey says such policies improve the educational climate for all students, not just gay and lesbian ones. “Part of the bill’s mandates would be staff training to ensure cultural competency so that not only is there is an appropriate response to bullying but embeds a more proactive approach to eliminate the culture that produces bullying in the first place,” he said.

Duran agreed that such a bill is one tool to help reduce the incidence of bullying and give the community some guidelines on how to address it. “Whether a policy can ultimately deter a bully who is determined to harass or assault another student, of course, is unpredictable, but declining to address the behavior will often be seen as a tacit endorsement of it,” he said. “A useful policy, combined with education of all who are connected to the school community, can help promote an environment in which that sort of conduct is effectively discouraged.”

He added, “Frankly, it also would help districts deflect lawsuits by harassed students or their families.”

In 2009, Anoka-Hennepin settled with a student after the Minnesota Department of Human Rights found evidence that two teachers conspired to harass a student they thought was gay. He wasn’t, but it cost the district $25,000, not an insignificant sum considering the declining revenues in many districts.

The Minnesota Family Council made a heavy lobbying push in 2009 to ask legislators to reject the bill because it would “promote acceptance of homosexuality” (The Family Council is backing Tom Emmer for governor this year). Emmer was among those voting against the Safe Schools bill in 2009.

OutFront Action, OutFront Minnesota’s political action committee, says Emmer is wrong on the issue. “Candidate Emmer’s opposition to anti-bullying legislation is an example of how extreme his views are and how out of step he is from what Minnesotans need in our next governor,” said Monica Meyer the group’s director. She said the group has endorsed Dayton “because he has been an outspoken advocate for addressing intolerance and creating safe communities.”

Sexual orientation is one of fourteen characteristics that are covered by the bill, which also includes race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, physical characteristics, or “association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.”

“There is nothing currently that requires school districts to have anti-harassment/violence policies that address these characteristics, though many do, voluntarily,” Duran said. Having such a policy sends a message to students, parents, and others that such conduct is unacceptable, and provides a basis on which staff and administrators can rely when they respond to that conduct.”

The group took down all information on its website on Friday and posted the message:

This site is under construction until further notice.

We have never been inundated with so much hate and disdain for a differing viewpoint than that of the pro-gay movement. Our group has NEVER written anything hateful on our site or to any member of the GET [Gay Equity Team] group with whom we strongly disagree. Apparently, tolerance, kindness and decency are only to be extended to the pro-gay viewpoint – talk about your bullying!

PAL had previously said on its website that it advocates for reparative therapy for homosexuals and supported efforts by Exodus International to bring the Day of Truth to schools in the district. The Day of Truth teaches Christian students to be outspoken about homosexuality as a sin. It also strongly advocated for the “neutrality policy,” a school district measure that prevents teachers from discussing sexual orientation and which advocates say ties the hands of school staff when addressing anti-gay bullying.

In an article titled, “Pols, Nativists Make Common Cause With Gay-Bashers,” the group looks at three examples of conservative candidates and connections to anti-gay groups.

[Rosanna] Pulido’s coziness with the gay-bashing [Illinois Family Institute] was no more notable than that of some Minnesota elected officials’ with You Can Run But You Cannot Hide Intl. Inc., a music ministry that brings punk rock evangelism into public schools in the Midwest. On a May 15 radio show, the ministry’s front man, Bradlee Dean, applauded the call of some Muslims for violence against gay people. “Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America,” Dean said. “This just shows you … they seem to be more moral than even the American Christians… . They know homosexuality is an abomination.”

After Minnesota Independent writer Andy Birkey reported his comments, Dean backpedaled, saying he does not favor the execution of homosexuals. Despite those remarks, Republican State Rep. Tom Emmer defended the ministry as a “pro-traditional marriage group” composed of “nice people.” And last November, Minnesota congresswoman and Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann was the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for the ministry.

The story references a May 25 Minnesota Independent report which includes audio of Dean telling his radio audiences, “Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America… They seem to be more moral than even the American Christians do, because these people are livid about enforcing their laws. They know homosexuality is an abomination.”

Protests over alleged harassment last year. Photo: Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent

The woman sobbed as she told her son’s story to the Anoka-Hennepin School Board on Monday. “Hi, I’m Tammy Aaberg, the mother of Justin Aaberg, who was a gay student at Anoka High School who committed suicide July 9th of this year.” The school district has become ground zero in the battle between those who want safe spaces for LGBT students and those who want any mention of homosexuality banned from high school campuses.

According to LGBT advocates, Justin’s death is one of three suicides by gay students in the last year, and while the district says it takes bullying seriously and has beefed up discipline against harassment, it has spurned invitations by LGBT groups to do anti-bullying education. To make matters more complicated, a group of parents opposed to homosexuality has formed to put pressure on the board not to bow to LGBT interests.

The district — the state’s largest, with around 40,000 students — made headlines last year when the Minnesota Department of Human Rights alleged that two teachers conspired to harass a student, Alex Merritt, who they thought was gay. The news led to protests at school board meetings urging the district to adopt stronger anti-bullying policies and offers by LGBT groups to provide education. The school board rebuffed those efforts.

Now, with news of three suicides by LGBT students within a year, family and friends who have lost loved ones are demanding the district make changes.

“For those of you who have never had a gay child, you need to know it is one of the scariest things to learn because you know that they will need to deal with a lot of criticism and harassment in their lives, and it makes me worry,” Aaberg said.

Justin’s family and friends told the board that he had been bullied at Anoka High School before he took his own life. “Do you think my son Justin deserved to die because there are other kids who feel superior by picking on him and no staff member will stop them?” she asked the board.

Two LGBT students also used the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting to describe their feelings of isolation at school.

Christina, who graduated from Anoka High School and who was friends with Justin, said, “When experiencing these problems, you can’t go to your parents, where you face rejection from those you love the most.” She continued, “You can’t go to your church if you are in condemnation from a religion you’ve always embraced.”

“You can’t go to your community.” She added, “Even in parks we have experienced harassment from people shouting ‘lesbian’ at us until we eventually got in the car and drove away.”

Megan, another 2010 graduate, took issue with the school’s policies. “It says that it is better for students to go to their home or their community or their church. I can’t go to any of those. I go home and my parents tell me I am cursed. I go to my church and I am rejected and condemned. I go to my community? What community do I have to go to?”

Megan was referring to a 2009 school board policy that says sexual orientation is not to be taught in the district.

Teaching about sexual orientation is not a part of the District adopted curriculum; rather, such matters are best addressed within individual family homes, churches, or community organizations. Anoka-Hennepin staff, in the course of their professional duties, shall remain neutral on matters regarding sexual orientation including but not limited to student led discussions.

That policy, the AH District 11 Sexual Orientation Curriculum Policy, has become the battleground for LGBT advocates and members of the religious right.

Parents Action League doesn’t disclose its membership, funding

In July, a shadow group of parents formed in the district with the intention on staving off any advances for LGBT students. The Parents Action League launched its website in June along with a petition that reads, “Whereas homosexual behavior exposes participants to many life-threatening health risks; and whereas the classroom environment needs to be solely focused on academics; Therefore, we the undersigned citizens of Anoka-Hennepin School District No. 11 do whole heartedly support and desire that the School Board adhere to … the AH District 11 Sexual Orientation Curriculum Policy.”

When the Minnesota Independent asked who founded the group and if it had any connections to other “pro-family” groups in the state, an unsigned email came back: “We think our website explains very well what we’re about and who founded it – citizens in the Anoka Hennepin School District.”

When questioned about ways to get more information about the group’s activities, the Independent was told via email, “We do not see your name on our on-line petition. Once you sign the petition, we may be contacting you” [emphasis theirs].

The group’s domain name registration doesn’t include identities of any group members, nor is the Parents Action League registered with any entity in Minnesota such as the Secretary of State’s office.

What is clear from the group’s website, however, is its ideology.

It wants the district to “respect traditional family values” and to “provide valid resources for students (and their families) struggling with sexual identity and/or same-sex attraction.” It seeks to “ensure that all health curriculum teach healthy sexuality and promote abstinence until marriage.” The group also wants the district to “promote the Day of Truth” each year.

The Day of Truth is an event organized by Exodus International, a group that says it can turn gay people straight through Christian prayer. It encourages students to bring the Exodus message into schools one day before the Day of Silence, an event that draws attention to violence against LGBT people.

The Parents Action League also has concerns about the district. It bemoans a “lack of resources and assistance for those students seeking to leave the homosexual lifestyle” and “an increase in pro-gay curriculum materials and resources used in our schools.”

The group is also concerned about “the health risks to students who are affirmed and labeled as ‘gay’ and who may participate in homosexual acts” and “the pro-gay activist teachers who fail to abide by district policies and use their classroom to promote their personal agendas.”

Gay Equity Team targets bullying

On the opposite side of the spectrum, another group has formed in response to the alleged harassment of Alex Merritt by two teachers. The Anoka Hennepin Gay Equity Team or GET is “committed to creating a safe, affirming, welcoming and empowering climate in the Anoka-Hennepin School District for all people regardless of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Over the last few months, the group has been responding to the troubling news of LGBT students taking their own lives. Peter Gokey is a member of GET and a former teacher in the district. He said the district has made positive steps to address bullying. It has added LGBT themes in its anti-bullying training videos, and the teachers union has created a training for teachers in the district as well.

But, Gokey says, until the district addresses the the AH District 11 Sexual Orientation Curriculum Policy, also known as the “neutrality policy,” the hands of teachers, staff and students are tied when trying to create a welcoming environment for LGBT students.

“It is the lack of cultural competency on gay issues that fosters an environment where bullying is possible, and the neutrality policy is a reflection of that lack of competency,” Gokey said. “Being reactive to bullying is necessary but not sufficient to reverse the suicide trend in the district. Proactive measures to be more affirming are needed; sadly, such measures are prohibited under the neutrality policy.”

The policy is also problematic because it is hardly neutral, he says.

“The policy is general to all issues of sexual orientation, but is only used against GLBT issues. In practice, no one is expected to remain neutral on the straight identity,” said Gokey. “The gay population is the only population that the district singles out in policy, creating stigma in how staff perceive and even interact with gay kids.”

Gokey said that anti-bullying policies are important but insufficient; the neutrality policy should also be changed. “It would remove just one more isolating factor, besides depression and bullying, that contributes to the suicides happening up there.”

Gokey also said that the Parents Action League will not deter GET from its mission to create a school where LGBT students feel safe. If anything, he said, it’s motivated the group to work even harder.

“Their aims are perfectly consistent with many other groups that the Southern Poverty Law Center has listed as hate groups, so on one hand it’s easy to blow them off, yet on the other hand, such extreme views as this are troubling,” he said.

Of most concern, he said, is “how [members of the Parents Action League] have worked so carefully to hide their identities. That level of secrecy suggests insecurity to me, and suggests nefarious intentions.”

He added, “We have nothing to hide about who we are or what our goals are. We’re all proud of what we’re doing.”

Anti-bullying measures not enough

While the two sides gear up to lobby the district to see their side, it’s little consolation for those who have lost friends and loved ones due to isolation, bullying and harassment. At Monday’s school board meeting, comments were directed at the neutrality policy.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t learn of this unfair school sexuality policy until after Justin died,” Tammy Aaberg told the board. “I was reading some information online which other parents had posted. There are some people who think parents should have rights not to have their kids exposed to homosexuality.”

“Well, news flash: There are homosexual people all over the world. Having your kid meet a homosexual in school and possibly even having a nice conversation with one isn’t going to turn your kid into one.”

School board Chairman Tom Heidemann thanked Aaberg for her testimony. But he said the neutrality policy and the bullying policy were two separate things.

“Just so you know, there are two distinct policies,” he said. “One is a curriculum policy and the other is a bullying policy. Under no circumstances should anybody in Anoka-Hennepin be bullied. It is the expectation of this school board that a teacher or administrator would take immediate action and if they don’t we would expect disciplinary action.”

Gokey agrees with Heidemann; the district is giving much attention to the issue of bullying in the district’s schools. But it is still not enough.

“The school board is very clear that they are taking the bullying issue very seriously, and by all accounts they are,” he said. “The problem is that they myopically fail to see a connection between their neutrality policy and the poor environment for GLBT kids that exists.”

Jack Shepard

Candidate Jack Shepard has filed a complaint with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board alleging that his opponent in the Aug. 10 Republican primary falsified information about him in her campaign materials. Shepard, a fugitive living in Europe, said he ran as a Republican in the Fourth Congressional District primary because he disagrees with Teresa Collett’s views on abortion and gay rights. An administrative law judge agreed on Tuesday to hear Shepard’s case.

Shepard charges that Collett told voters that if he were to win the GOP primary he would drop out of the race, paving the way for DFL Rep. Betty McCollum to win another term. But Shepard says that’s not true; he had every intention of staying in the race to the end.

In one email to supporters, Collett’s campaign wrote, “Teresa’s primary opponent, Dr. Jack Shepard, has publicly stated that if elected in the primary, he will drop out of the race to allow Betty McCollum to run unopposed. We must make sure that Teresa is our candidate on the November ballot and our Congresswoman in January.”

And in another: “The primary election is almost here. My opponent, Dr. Jack Shepard, is a perennial candidate who has run against Republicans in this district for the past eight years. He has stated publicly that if he is successful in the Republican primary, he will withdraw from the race to ensure that Betty McCollum returns to Congress in January.”

Administrative Judge Steve Mihalchick decided on Tuesday that Shepard had presented enough evidence for a hearing, which will be set for Friday.

Shepard said he has also filed papers to contest the results of the primary election in which Collett secured 67 percent of the vote.

“I will be doing anything and everything possible to remove Teresa Collett’s name from the General Election Ballot for the 4th Congressional District because of her violations of Minnesota Election laws,” Shepard said in a statement. “Such an aggressively anti-GLBT and same-sex marriage candidate as Teresa Collett can never, I hope, represent Minnesota in the U.S. Congress.”

Here’s a copy of the judge’s order (PDF).