Outfront

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?

Legislation that would pave the way for domestic partner benefits for state employees passed a key committee last week. Currently, gay and lesbian state employees are barred from providing state employee benefits for their families, a discrepancy that advocates say puts state government and state colleges and universities at a competitive disadvantage. The bill, HF 1219, passed the House Health Care and Human Services Policy and Oversight Committee by a voice vote.

For more than a decade, the Anoka-Hennepin School Board had a policy that forbade teachers and students from speaking about homosexuality, except to describe it as abnormal or invalid. But the board Monday approved a more inclusive policy after years of work by community members to make the district more accepting of all students.

Same-sex marriage will again be a hot topic in the state Legislature this year, and some new initiatives are sure to create controversy. But for a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community that has been playing defense against social conservatives for more than a decade, the 2009 legislature will be the friendliest in years, some lawmakers say.

Minnesota Monitor welcomes guest commentaries from community members and organizations to be published at our discretion. Today, Monica Meyer, public policy director for OutFront Minnesota,  shares her thoughts on GLBT issues in the Legislature.

To be sure, the 2008 legislative session is quieter around gay issues compared to 2007. But quietly, legislative support for gay, lesbian, [...]