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Judge: Anti-gay group allowed to hand out bibles at LGBT Pride

By Andy Birkey | 06.25.10 | 3:35 pm

Brian Johnson and his family will be allowed to hand out Bibles and preach against homosexuality at the Twin Cities Pride Festival on Saturday and Sunday in Minneapolis’ Loring Park, according to a ruling by district court Judge John Tunheim.…

Gay pride pulls in Democratic candidates and one Republican

By Andy Birkey | 06.25.10 | 9:23 am

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis Sunday for the annual Ashley Rukes GLBT Pride Parade. Among them will a large number of politicians, including every Democratic gubernatorial candidate, the Independence Party’s Tom Horner and one GOP-endorsed candidate, state House contender Brian Gruber.

Minneapolis parks, Pride tussle over anti-gay group

By Andy Birkey | 06.23.10 | 8:09 am

Twin Cities Pride and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board are locked in a disagreement over whether the Pride Festival, a gathering of nearly 300,000 LGBT people and allies held annually in Loring Park, should be compelled to allow an anti-gay group to distribute Bibles at the event. Festival organizers say they paid ten of thousands of dollars to secure the park for this weekend’s celebration, giving them a right to control the message of the event. The Park Board has given the OK to Brain and Lois Johnson to distribute the Bibles, saying it is merely standing up for free speech.

Klobuchar, Lubinski to headline Justice Department Pride event

By Andy Birkey | 06.14.10 | 6:30 am

Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Marshal Sharon Lubinski will headline a LGBT Pride event for Department of Justice employees on June 21. Lubinksi was sworn in as the U.S. Marshal for Minnesota and is widely

Duluth Gay Pride draws politicians, celebrities and protesters

By Andy Birkey | 09.08.09 | 4:00 pm

The Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior drew a record 12,000 people for the 23rd annual LGBT Pride event Labor Day weekend. Anti-gay protesters shouted at parade participants and festival-goers, while politicians angling for the DFL nomination for governor worked the crowds. The festival boasted a big name act with international drag sensation RuPaul.

Cultures collide: Somali youth harass gay man at Pride

By Andy Birkey | 06.30.09 | 11:53 am

gayprideharassCultures 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,”…

WCCO gay story pairing raises eyebrows

By Andy Birkey | 06.25.09 | 12:09 pm

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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

State LGBT leaders weigh in: After 40 years, has Pride run its course?

By Andy Birkey | 06.25.09 | 12:00 pm

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?

Pine City Pride endures despite rival ‘family values’ event

By Andy Birkey | 06.08.09 | 2:51 pm

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.”