Happy Pride Month! Every June, we celebrate LGBTQ+ Minnesotans and the advancements we’ve made toward equity for all Minnesotans, regardless of their gender identity or sexuality. We’ve come a long way, but Republicans’ actions during this year’s legislative session served as a harsh reminder that we’ve still got a long way to go. Republicans are STILL failing LGBTQ+ Minnesotans in 2019. Here’s how:
Blocking a ban on conversion therapy
LGBTQ+ youth in Minnesota don’t need fixing. That’s why DFLers worked this session to ban the use of conversion therapy on young Minnesotans, a practice that can cause longlasting and damaging psychological effects.
Minnesotans like Junior Avalos know firsthand how harmful conversion therapy can be. Despite stories like his, Republicans still blocked the conversion therapy ban, leaving young LGBTQ+ Minnesotans vulnerable to these dangerous practices.
Failing to pass the ERA
Minnesotans deserve equal rights, whatever their gender identity. Not a controversial statement, right? Unfortunately, Minnesota Republicans don’t agree. Some Republicans voted to block a state Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) because the proposed amendment included gender-inclusive language that would have extended protections to transgender and nonbinary Minnesotans. Why do Republicans want to allow discrimination to continue?
Transphobia on the house floor
During the Equal Rights Amendment debate… this happened.
While the #mnleg debated #MNERA, Republican Glenn Gruenhagen took the time to attack transgender Minnesotans.
Come on, dude. 🤦 pic.twitter.com/PezKrbTxzg
— A Better Minnesota (@ABetterMN) March 8, 2019
Seriously?
Unnecessary barriers for lesbian parents
When a woman who is married to a man gives birth to a child in Minnesota, that man automatically becomes the child’s legal father, regardless of whether the man is the child’s biological father or if the couple used a sperm donor.
When a woman who is married to another woman gives birth to a child in Minnesota, the biological mother’s wife must adopt the child, a costly process that can take up to a year.
That’s not fair, and that’s why DFLers in the house sought to pass Logan’s Law to remove unnecessary barriers for lesbian moms. Republicans didn’t even take the measure up for a vote in the Senate.
And in Washington…
It’s not just in St. Paul that Republicans are failing to do the right thing for the Minnesotans they represent. All three Minnesota Republicans in Congress voted against a bill to protect LGBTQ+ Americans from discrimination. What do they have to lose from protecting the rights of the people they represent?
LGBTQ+ Minnesotans and allies deserve better than Republicans’ regressive tactics. Sign up to help us keep Minnesota moving forward, not backwards, toward equity for all Minnesotans.
