Category: Minnesota

Target, Best Buy feel investor backlash over political donation

LGBTQ Nation • Friday, August 20, 2010 • Filed under: Business, Minnesota • Comments (0)

After weeks of public protest over its financial support of an organization that backed a GOP gubernatorial candidate opposed to gay rights, Target Corp. now faces a new form of pressure: demands from institutional shareholders that it revamp its donation process to avoid the chance of additional backfires.

From the Los Angeles Times:

“Imprudent donations can potentially have a major negative impact on company reputations and business if they don’t carefully and fully assess a candidate’s positions,” said Tim Smith, a senior vice president at Walden Asset Management, one of three asset management firms that this week filed a resolution asking the retail giant to overhaul its campaign donation policies. He cautioned that funding ballot initiatives, as many corporations have done, “can similarly backfire.”

The three management firms sponsoring the resolution — Calvert Asset Management, Trillium Asset Management and Walden — together hold $57.5 million of Target stock. Other institutional investors, including the giant New York state pension fund and union investment managers, are considering co-signing the resolution, which calls on Target’s independent directors to review the criteria and risks in making donations to organizations active in political campaigns.

Retailers Target and Best Buy were among several Minnesota firms that gave large donations to MN Forward, a new tax-exempt committee running ads backing GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, a staunch opponent of LGBT rights and same-sex marriage.

Best Buy has received the same shareholder resolution as Target, which calls for a far more rigorous and specific review by independent board members and for disclosure of the company’s contributions policy.

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Target rejects HRC call for ‘make it right’ donation to gay causes

LGBTQ Nation • Monday, August 16, 2010 • Filed under: Business, Minnesota • Comments (0)

Target Corp. said Monday it has no plans to donate money to gay-friendly causes to quiet the protests over a $150,000 donation that helped support a Minnesota governor candidate who opposes gay marriage.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) said the Minneapolis-based retailer had effectively rejected the group’s proposals to donate to gay rights organizations to offset the earlier donation.

In a statement, Target said:

“Given the current political and emotionally charged environment, we have concluded that it is best to wait before taking further external action regarding our MN Forward contribution. We believe that it is impossible to avoid turning any further actions into a political issue and will use the benefit of time to make thoughtful, careful decisions on how best to move forward.”

The HRC issued this statement:

“After two weeks of good-faith discussions -– and two tentative agreements –- with Target Corporation, the company has informed the HRC that it will take no corrective actions to repair the harm that it caused by contributing $150,000 to an organization supporting a vehemently anti-gay candidate closely associated with a Christian rock band that advocates death and violence to gay people. In response, HRC announced that it will devote $150,000 of its own resources to help elect a pro-equality governor and legislature in Minnesota. The next governor will likely have the opportunity to either sign or veto marriage equality legislation in the North Star State.

“All fair-minded Americans will now rightly question Target’s commitment to equality. If their initial contribution was a slap in the face, their refusal to make it right is a punch in the gut and that’s not something that we will soon forget,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.

Continue reading…

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LGBT groups turn up heat on Target; but is Best Buy getting off too easy?

LGBTQ Nation • Wednesday, August 11, 2010 • Filed under: Minnesota, Politics • Comments (0)

While the standoff between LGBT groups and Target stores heats up over a $150,000 political donation that helped fund an anti-gay candidate for Minnesota governor, Best Buy, who donated $100,000 to the same fund, has quietly escaped much of the protests and headlines.

Two weeks ago, Target Corporation came under fire from gay rights advocates for contributing to Minnesota Forward, a political action group that has come out in support of anti-gay gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, a staunch opponent of same-sex marriage, who in 2007, authored a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage and civil unions, and on numerous occasions has tried to change language in bills that would prevent same-sex couples from receiving benefits.

Within hours, LGBT activists sprung into action, and launched a Boycott Target page on Facebook, and a blog TargetingGLBT, all in effort to pressure the company to rethink its political contributions.

Not more than a day later, it was also revealed that Richfield, MN-based Best Buy contributed to the same group. And while a Boycott Best Buy effort was launched on Facebook as well, it was buried among the Target headlines and to date, barely attracted one tenth of the supporters of the Boycott Target effort.
Continue reading…

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Judge OKs anti-gay evangelist to distribute bibles at Minnesota pride event

LGBTQ Nation • Sunday, June 27, 2010 • Filed under: Minnesota • Comments (0)

Johnson

Anti-gay evangelist Brian Johnson roamed a Minneapolis park passing out bibles during Saturday’s Twin Cities Pride Festival after a federal judge ruled Friday that organizers could not ban him from the event to express his views against homosexuality.

Reports WCCO-TV:

“If somebody comes up and talks to us or asks for a Bible we’ll talk to them, if not, for the most part we don’t talk to them, because we’re here trying not to disturb anybody or anything or be disrespectful to anybody,” said Johnson.

But Pride Festival organizers say they’ve had complaints about Johnson’s anti-gay message. He was arrested at the event last year.

This year, festival organizers tried to get a temporary restraining order against him. Friday, a judge ruled Johnson had a First Amendment right to be there.

Johnson, 53, of Hayward, Wis., handed out bibles for 10 years as an official Pride vendor until organizers denied him vendor privileges in 2009. They said he espoused anti-gay messages and had been dishonest about his intentions.

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Minnesota House holds first ever hearing on gay marriage legislation

LGBTQ Nation • Tuesday, February 23, 2010 • Filed under: Minnesota • Comments (0)

On Monday, the Minnesota House held its first ever hearings into legalizing gay marriage in Minnesota. There are three bills that the House is considering but there will be no votes.

Still, the hearing for the Civil Justice Committee is stirring up a lot of emotion. The bills would recognize gay marriages in Minnesota and from other states.

The bill would eliminate the word marriage in state law and replace it will civil union contract. Gay and lesbian couples told the committee they lead normal lives but opponents called it immoral.

The three bills contemplated during the hour long testimony from both advocates and opponents were: one to create civil unions, one to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages and one to allow full legal marriage for same-sex couples.

The hearing was for informational purposes only.

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Minnesota gay rights group rallies in support of gay marriage legislation

LGBTQ Nation • Saturday, February 13, 2010 • Filed under: Marriage Equality, Minnesota • Comments (0)

Gay rights supporters rallied at the Minnesota state capital in St. Paul this week in a show of support for same-sex marriage.

One of the state’s most high-profile gay rights group gathered spiritual leaders and activists in the Capitol rotunda Thursday.

OutFront Minnesota, is pushing a bill in the Legislature that would make laws regulating marriage gender-neutral.

“For years, many Minnesotans thought that support for marriage equality was simply incompatible with religious faith,” said OutFront Minnesota Executive Director Amy Johnson said. Continue reading…

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Senate confirms first openly gay U.S. Marshal, will oversee MN district

LGBTQ Nation • Monday, December 28, 2009 • Filed under: Minnesota • Comments (0)

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) announced Monday that the Senate has confirmed openly gay Minneapolis Assistant Police Chief Sharon Lubinski to be the district of Minnesota’s U.S. Marshal.

Sharon Lubinski

Lubinski

Earlier this year, Klobuchar recommended Lubinski to President Obama, who formally nominated her for the post in October.

“Sharon Lubinksi will be an excellent U.S. Marshal. It was a pleasure to recommend her to the President, and I was honored to vote for her,” said Klobuchar in a news release.

“Her mix of experience managing a large, urban police department and working in a rural sheriff’s office makes her uniquely qualified for this position. I know she will make Minnesota proud as she serves in this role.”

Lubinski has served as the Assistant Police Chief for Minneapolis since 2006. From 1978 to 1986, she served as a deputy with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin.

Already one of the nation’s highest-ranked female law-enforcement officers, Lubinski becomes the one of only two women in the nation currently serving in the post, and the first openly gay U.S. Marshal in the nation.

U.S. Marshals oversee federal courthouse security, protect witnesses, transport prisoners, and catch federal fugitives.

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Pawlenty: gay relationships not ‘equivalent of traditional marriage’

LGBTQ Nation • Saturday, December 26, 2009 • Filed under: Minnesota, National Agenda • Comments (1)

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, widely regarded as a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2012, seems to be clarifying past positions, lest he be mistaken for supporting LGBTQ rights.

Tim PawlentyIn a recent interview with Newsweek’s Howard Fineman, Pawlenty expresses his regret for having voted in favor of a 1993 state bill, the first of its kind in the nation, that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The full interview appears in the January 4, 2010 print edition of Newsweek. Here are a few notable excerpts:

Newsweek: I know you are opposed to gay marriage, but what about medical benefits for same-sex couples?
Pawlenty: I have not supported that.

Why not?
My general view on all of this is that marriage is to be defined as being a union of a man and a woman. Marriage should be elevated in our society at a special level. I don’t think all domestic relationships are the equivalent of traditional marriage. Early on we decided as a country and as a state that there was value in a man and a woman being married in terms of impact on children and the like, and we want to encourage that.

To borrow a phrase, have your views evolved over time?
In 1993 I voted for a bill prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodation, housing, and employment. That was 16 years ago.

Yes, gay-rights activists regarded you as a pretty cool guy at the time.
We overbaked that statute, for a couple of reasons. If I had to do it over again I would have changed some things.

Overbaked?
That statute is not worded the way it should be. I said I regretted the vote later because it included things like cross-dressing, and a variety of other people involved in behaviors that weren’t based on sexual orientation, just a preference for the way they dressed and behaved. So it was overly broad. So if you are a third-grade teacher and you are a man and you show up on Monday as Mr. Johnson and you show up on Tuesday as Mrs. Johnson, that is a little confusing to the kids. So I don’t like that.

Has the law been changed?
No. It should be, though.

So you want to protect kids against cross-dressing elementary-school teachers. Do you have any in Minnesota?
Probably. We’ve had a few instances, not exactly like that, but similar.

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

MN teachers acussed of harassment placed on leave

LGBTQ Nation • Tuesday, September 1, 2009 • Filed under: Around the Nation, Education, Minnesota • Comments (0)

Anoka HennepinThe Anoka-Hennepin School District reported that two teachers who repeatedly mocked a student they believed was gay are on leave, a district official said Tuesday.

Diane Cleveland and Walter Filson were placed on leave within the past week, said Ginny Karbowski, director of career and technical education for the Secondary Technical Education Program (STEP), where the two taught.

The district’s action is the latest development in the controversy over the teachers, who allegedly harassed a student, Alex Merrit, back in early 2008.

The announcement by the district comes on the same night concerned parents and community members met to protest Cleveland and Filson outside the school’s open house. Their protests turned to celebration when they learned the teachers were on leave of absence, and not returning to their classrooms when school starts next Tuesday. Continue reading…

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

School district to pay $25K over gay slurs, harassment

LGBTQ Nation • Thursday, August 13, 2009 • Filed under: Around the Nation, Education, Minnesota • Comments (0)

Alex MerrittMinnesota’s largest school district, Anoka-Hennepin, has agreed to pay a family $25,000 after two teachers allegedly harassed a boy because of his perceived sexual orientation, according to the Star Tribune.

The teachers reportedly harassed the boy and subjected him to classroom jokes, comments and innuendos.

The boy’s “fence swings both ways,” teacher Diane Cleveland commented during a class in the 2007-2008 school year, according to an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

The student, Alex Merritt, who is now 18, said the teachers’ comments, which he said weren’t true, spurred death threats and led him to transfer 25 miles away to Zimmerman High School, where he graduated in the spring.

According to the Human Right’s report, when Merritt wrote a report on Ben Franklin, Cleveland allegedly said before the entire class that the he had a “thing for older men.” Another teacher, Walter Filson, said in front of other students that Merritt “enjoys wearing women’s clothes, ” and when he reported on Abraham Lincoln, Filson allegedly said, “Since you like your men older …” the report said.

The district reacted in January 2008 to the allegations by briefly reassigning Cleveland, 39, a social studies teacher, and placing her on two-day unpaid suspension. But within weeks she was back in her classroom, according to the department’s report. It is not known what, if any, disciplinary was taken regarding Filson, 56, a law enforcement teacher.

The school district, which has denied it violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act, agreed last month to pay Merritt’s family $25,000.

Full story at Star-Tribune.com.

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