Lgbt

After hours of debate at the Minneapolis Convention Center, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted Friday evening to lift its ban on openly gay and lesbian clergy in committed relationships. Advocates on both sides made passionate pleas, with proponents saying the future of the church depends on a more progressive stance on homosexuality and opponents saying the decision could split the church.

It was only a matter of time before the religious right would chime in to announce that a tornado that hit parts of Minneapolis on Wednesday was a warning from God that the Lutherans should not relax doctrine related to homosexuality. “Jesus Christ,” wrote John Piper, pastor at Minneapolis’ Bethlehem Baptist Church, “controls the wind, [...]

Two close calls marked the third day of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on Wednesday. The nearly 2,000 people assembled at the Minneapolis Convention Center took cover as a tornado nipped the building and damaged the steeple of a Lutheran church across the street. A short time later, the 1,014 voting members passed a social statement relaxing church doctrine on homosexuality with a dramatic vote that was exactly a two-thirds majority.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken signed on to sponsor the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which was introduced in the Senate on Wednesday. ENDA would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment. In 29 states, it is still legal to fire someone due to sexual orientation and in 38 states for [...]

A new report released Thursday shows that one in five LGBT Minnesotans lack health insurance. PFund, a foundation committed to strengthening Minnesota’s LGBT community, commissioned the study (pdf) including a survey by Rainbow Health Initiative of 1,100 LGBT Minnesotans about their health and health care.

Yesterday, St. Paul became the third municipality in Minnesota to offer a domestic partnership registry. No citizens testified against the measure, and the city council unanimously approved the registry Wednesday afternoon. Mayor Chris Coleman signed the ordinance into law surrounded by LGBT advocates at the St. Paul gay bar, Camp.

Sen. Al Franken announced Tuesday that he has signed on to the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a bill that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing hate crime laws which outlaw bias crimes based on actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin. The bill was introduced in April. Sen. [...]

Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, was one of 300 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender leaders invited to a reception with President Obama on Monday. The reception, largely seen as an attempt to quell growing LGBT criticism of the Obama administration, marked the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
Dibble brought with him several letters to give to [...]

A pair of headlines Thursday morning at the WCCO website made for a stark contrast in the television station’s treatment of LGBT-related stories. On one side, “Twin Cities to Celebrate 37th Gay Pride Fest” and on the other, “Undercover Cops Crack Down on Gay Cruising.”
“Gay cruising” is often a phenomena among men who are closeted [...]

Forty years ago, gay and lesbian activists rioted in New York’s Greenwich Village in protest of police raids on gay bars and arrests of gay people. This weekend’s remembrance of the Stonewall riots, which galvanized the LBGT rights movement, prompts a question: After four decades, has Pride kept its political edge, or has it become merely a big party, more focused on consumerism than civil rights?