Minnesota Independent

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

Anoka-Hennepin schools’ long history in the culture war

By Andy Birkey | 08.26.11 | 8:30 am

Today’s battle over how to address LGBT issues in Minnesota’s largest school district is nothing new. For the past 20 years, conservative Christian parents in the Anoka-Hennepin School District have been working to make their beliefs — from creationism to the negative effects of R-rated movies and the “Goosebumps” books on children — have impact in district schools. Their tactics have included the banning of books and films, changes to school curriculum and the forced resignation of an LGBT teacher.

Family Council, NOM: Lobbyist complaint is harassment

By Andy Birkey | 08.23.11 | 10:06 am

The Minnesota Family Council, the National Organization for Marriage and Common Cause Minnesota have all weighed in on a complaint that was dismissed by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board last week. The Minnesota Family Council and NOM said they were victims of the complaint, which was filed by Common Cause Minnesota, and characterized it as harassment, intimidation and an “attack.” Common Cause said the complaint highlights a loophole in Minnesota’s lobbying laws.

Couples file appeal in Minnesota same-sex marriage lawsuit

By Andy Birkey | 08.19.11 | 12:01 pm

The 2012 ballot isn’t the only place where a raging debate on same-sex marriage is taking place in Minnesota. Three same-sex couples filed an appeal in July in their bid to overturn Minnesota’s Defense of Marriage Act, and groups on both sides of the issue have filed paperwork with the court offering strongly worded arguments on the issue of marriage equality.

NOM founder Maggie Gallagher. Photo: Ed Kennedy, Flickr

NOM spent $709,000 in Minnesota on 2010 marriage ads

By Andy Birkey | 08.18.11 | 7:46 am

Findings by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board show that the National Organization for Marriage spent $709,000 on radio and television ads during the gubernatorial campaign in 2010. Those ads targeted DFLer Mark Dayton and Independence Party candidate Tom Horner for their support for marriage equality and lent support for the campaign of Republican Tom Emmer who supported a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage.

Campaign finance board dismisses complaints against NOM, MFC

By Andy Birkey | 08.17.11 | 1:19 pm

Common Cause Minnesota had filed the complaints alleging that advertising by the National Organization for Marriage and the Minnesota Family Council on an anti-gay marriage amendment in 2010 constituted lobbying. The board ruled that the ads were too vague to trigger the registration requirement for lobbyists.

Bachmann among 2012 hopefuls fundraising for anti-gay groups

By Andy Birkey | 08.11.11 | 2:29 pm

A number of Republican presidential candidates, including Minnesota’s Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty, are raising money for family policy councils, state-based religious-right groups affiliated with the Family Research Council, a group that the Southern Poverty Law Center says is an anti-gay hate group.

Minnesota Family Council registers ‘marriage protection fund’

By Andy Birkey | 08.11.11 | 10:32 am

Newly registered with the state, the Minnesota Family Council Marriage Protection Fund will raise money for the group’s campaign to persuade voters to pass a constitutional amendment barring marriage equality for same-sex couples.

Minnesota Family Council launches efforts to pass marriage ban

By Andy Birkey | 08.10.11 | 12:38 pm

The Minnesota Family Council has ramped up its efforts this week to pass a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as only between one man and one woman. The group is seeking volunteers to reach out to pastors and has launched a nine-month training program called the Minnesota Worldview Leadership Project.

Anti-LGBT group launches campaign to prevent gay people from donating blood

By Sofia Resnick | 08.10.11 | 10:15 am

Peter LaBarbera’s Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) last week launched a campaign to prevent gay men from donating blood. Keep the Gay Blood Ban (KGB²) was sparked, LaBarbera says, because of “renewed lobby efforts to open up the U.S. blood supply to homosexuality-practicing men.”

Family Council, LGBT activists pan FCKH8 video

By Andy Birkey | 08.03.11 | 2:02 pm

A video about Minnesota’s battle over a ballot measure that would ban marriage for same-sex couples is being panned by both sides of the issue. FCKH8, a California-based group, has created a video in support of efforts to defeat the amendment in 2012, and it’s a video that is purposefully offensive. The Minnesota Family Council found the video so distasteful it launched a fundraising campaign around it and attempted to tie it to Minnesota’s LGBT community.