GLBT

Alleged anti-gay harassment at the hands of teachers at a north metro school district cost taxpayers $25,000, the Star Tribune reports. The settlement addresses exactly the kind of hostile school environment an anti-bullying bill vetoed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty was supposed to address.

Sen. Paul Koering, R-Fort Ripley, abandoned his exploratory committee for governor yesterday, citing fundraising difficulties and a refusal of many Republican activists to support an openly gay candidate, ECM Publishers reports.

Thousands of Lutherans will gather in Minneapolis on August 17 to take an historic vote on LGBT issues within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). With only weeks before the vote, delegates to the assembly are being wooed by supporters and opponents of a more welcoming church for LGBT Lutherans. If the measures pass, the ELCA would become the largest religious denomination in the United States to ordain gay pastors.

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was questioned on Wednesday about marriage case law in Minnesota. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, pressed Sotomayor about same-sex marriage precedent — without actually mentioning gays or marriage — by using Baker v. Nelson, a 1971 ruling by the Minnesota Supreme outlawing same-sex marriage in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure board agreed to fine the campaign committee of gubernatorial candidate Matt Entenza on Tuesday for inadvertently accepting a campaign contribution from a lobbyist.

A video of Somali youth harassing a gay man captured last week at the Twin Cities Pride Festival has garnered a lot of attention, spurred debate and spawned numerous press releases. Video author Justin Grey Day and the victim, Adam Schreifels, released videos responding to the debate over the incident. Politicians have denounced bias crimes [...]

Cultures collided Sunday when a gay man was harassed by more than a dozen Somali youths while heading home after the Twin Cities GLBT Pride Festival. Shouting “I hate gay people,” “Fuck gay people,” and “Gay is not the way,” the youths followed the man for several blocks. The entire incident was caught on video.

St. Paul City Council members Dave Thune and Lee Helgen will be introducing a proposal for a domestic partner registry this week. For a $20 fee, couples who cannot marry (and some who wish not to) can get their relationship recognized through a city registry. Proponents say the registry will aid couples, especially same-sex couples, [...]

A report released Tuesday by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs shows a 2 percent increase nationally in hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in 2008. In Minnesota and much of the Midwest, hate crime numbers increased substantially in 2008.

The national debate about gay rights hit home in the small community of Pine City, Minn., on Sunday as residents hosted two dueling picnics in the city of 3,000 people. For the fifth year, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender folks from east-central Minnesota gathered to celebrate family and community. And for the second year, their neighbors organized a picnic just blocks away opposing gay rights and promoting “family values.”