Legislation

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 [...]

A bill authored by Rep. Betty McCollum passed the U.S. House on Wednesday after being included in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act. It’d work to end child marriage by increasing State Department staffing on the issue and direct the federal government to create a strategy to work with other countries to decrease the incidence of [...]

LGBT rights activists have reason to celebrate this legislative session as steps — albeit baby ones — were made in the area of LGBT equality. While the majority of more than a dozen bills failed to even make it out of legislative committee, a few found their way to Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s desk, with one bill becoming law.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that he will definitely veto a medical marijuana bill that passed the state Legislature on Monday. But, he added, “I have great empathy for the sick.”

For the first time in a decade of effort, medical marijuana bill is heading to the governor’s desk. Legislators added new restrictions to the final version of the bill in an attempt to assuage Gov. Palwenty’s concerns. But one legislator might have taken his opposition too far, as Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano, offered a series of amendments many in the House found offensive.

The Safe Schools for All bill passed the Minnesota House on Monday and is heading to the desk of Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Advocates and people with disabilities say a bill to strengthen anti-bullying programs in Minnesota’s schools is vital to promoting the safety of disabled students. But Republicans and the religious right are pushing back because it contains protections for gender identity and sexual orientation that amounts to “indoctrination of homosexuality.”

The law enforcement lobby has been conducting a full-court press against a medical marijuana bill that’s making its way through the legislature. But the claims made by Minnesota law enforcement officials are at best half-truths and exaggerations, and in some cases directly contradict government data.

A bill to legalize medical marijuana for seriously ill Minnesotans passed the State Senate on Wednesday. The bill prompted an hour of heated debate before passing the chamber by a vote of 36 to 28. The bill awaits a vote in the House before making its way to Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has indicated he will veto the bill.

Carl Walker-Hoover, an 11-year old charter school student from Massachusetts, took his own life last week after incessant taunting by fellow students. His story served as an example of the eminent danger some students face as the Minnesota Senate debated — and passed on Thursday — a measure to guide school districts in addressing bullying. It’s a measure that Senate Republicans vociferously opposed.