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(Minneapolis) - Today's St. Paul City Council vote to oppose the
proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution intended to bar any
form of legal recognition of same-sex couples and their families is a
welcome expression of common sense, says Ann M. DeGroot, Executive
Director of OutFront Minnesota, the state's leading organization serving
the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community and its allies.
"Municipal governments in Minnesota recognize the value of providing
support to all families within their communities, including those
consisting of or headed by same-sex couples, and of not shutting off
discussion of rational public-policy responses," says OutFront Minnesota
Executive Director Ann M. DeGroot. "It's conversations like that which
need to move from city halls to the state Legislature, and we applaud
St. Paul's support for keeping that discussion alive."
The St. Paul City Council endorsed a resolution introduced by Second
Ward representative Dave Thune opposing HF 2789/SF 2715, which would
insert unprecedented language into the state Constitution requiring that
Minnesota discriminate in the issuance of government marriage licenses.
Thune returned to the City Council earlier this year; in the 1990s, he
had authored language which inserted "sexual orientation" into St.
Paul's human rights ordinance.
According to DeGroot, Minneapolis created a domestic partner registry in
1991, and St. Paul is considering a similar move this year. St. Paul
Mayor Randy Kelly has also resumed St. Paul's previous policy of issuing
mayoral proclamations in honor of GLBT Pride Month each June. The City has also sought openly-GLBT
representation on its police issues and police chief hiring task forces,
and in December, repealed a nineteenth century ordinance barring
cross-dressing, which created potential legal difficulties for St.
Paul's transgender residents and visitors.
Contact:
Monica Meyer, Public Policy Director
(612) 822-0127, ext. 115
Ann M. DeGroot, Executive Director
(612) 822-0127, ext. 107
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