Secrets of the City

I Was Told There Would Be Bacon offers a heartfelt (meaning plenty of “fucks” involved) commentary on the House health reform legislation passed last Saturday. Sure, it’s great that “every single DFL candidate for next year’s gubernatorial race is in favor of 100-percent, straight-up full gay marriage.” But the Stupak-Pitts amendment “would be the single largest blow to abortion rights since Roe v. Wade was decided.”

Perhaps the conservative focus on abortion distracted them from the bill’s LGBT provisions. Or so says the Minnesota Family Council, who is now shifting its attention to measures they feel “seek to redefine and thus undermine the basic structure of the natural family.”

See Is That All You’ve Got’s Health Care Round Up for more. And expect to see more of author ShyestViolet on MNSpeak soon.

Also, see MPR’s take on what the House bill means for Minnesota.

Apparently, marriage isn’t about love at all (perhaps we knew that), but about reproduction — or something like that. Katherine Kersten breaks down the “slippery slope” of gay marriage, claiming it’s not antigay bigotry that keeps her from supporting it, but the simple fact that, “Sex between men and women creates new human beings.” According to Kersten, gay marriage would, “gut marriage of its fundamental meaning and transform it from an institution centered on children and the mother/father nuclear family to one centered on adults.”

Ok, so marriage is about children, not adults. Does a childless marriage also threaten the institution? Birth control? Infertility? Ok, so how about establishing some other form of union for us childless beasts? Anybody want to suggest a name?

Maybe our DFL gubernatorial candidates can weigh in on the issue.

Culture Bully offers an excellent introduction to (and copsonsorts) Hip Hop Against Homophobia, including an interview with the organizers: “We, as hip hop artists, fans, promoters, writers and community members in general, are recognizing that hip hop is often associated with homophobia, and whether that’s fair/accurate or not, we are standing up to break down that perception.”

Erica at Cinna.mn answers the question “Where should I donate to support marriage equality in Minnesota?” In the meanwhile, the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library offers a surprisingly detailed list of resources on the topic of same-sex marriage in Minnesota. Senator John Marty, on MinnPost, argues that it is time to move foreward on the subject.

MinnPost discusses the unique difficulties in legalizing gay marriage in Minnesota: “We’re all about marriage equality,” said Phil Duran, staff attorney for Outfront Minnesota, an organization that pushes for rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. “But litigation is NOT a good idea at this time. I find this personally frustrating. I went to law school because I wanted to rattle cages, but …”

When couples who want to go to court to win the right to marry come to Outfront, they’re told, “Not yet.”

The Minnesota Spokesman Monitor looks at the One Voice Mixed Chorus.

Allan Spear, a former president of the Minnesota Senate, civil rights champion, historian and one of the first openly gay state legislators in the country, died Saturday of complications following surgery.

Here are the pages that caused the Virginia delegation to cancel their order for The Rake’s 2008-09 Secrets of the City Guide to Minneapolis Saint Paul

Is women’s basket ball just “a place for lesbians to make out when they score”? So said radio show host Chris Baker. Erica points us to this great response from canishoopis: Here’s my suggestion as to how to handle this situation: everyone should take the time to visit Chris Baker’s KTLK web page. Download one of his podcasts, pop it in your car, and drive on down to the Target Center to catch a Lynx game. It will take all of about 2 minutes in the 1st quarter for you to realize which entertainment option is actually worth your while.

Via Metroblogging, where Erica has some comments: Three Minnesota couples, including Duane and myself, are preparing to sue the state of Minnesota for denying us our constitutional right to civil marriage. The Minneapolis law firm of Mansfield, Tanick and Cohen has been selected to bring the case against the state. Because the legal fees associated with this case are expected to be thirty to forty thousand dollars, litigants are seeking thirty to forty lesbian and gay couples to join in the suit, which is expected to be filed later this summer.