Inclusion Wins.
Oct 25th, 2009 by Mark
Join us at Tickles (ticklesbar.com), 1032 3rd Ave NE, Minneapolis, for drinks and conversation with your fellow Log Cabin Republicans and like-minded conservatives and moderates. Learn about our recent meeting with Governor Pawlenty at the governor’s residence, upcoming LCR events in Fargo and at St John’s University, and the upcoming elections.
All members and those interested in learning more about Log Cabin are welcome. See you there!
October 23, 2009 (Los Angeles, CA) - In a move consistent with other contradictory behavior on LGBT issues, the Obama administration has directed its Justice Department to file an extraordinary motion to get Log Cabin Republicans’ lawsuit against the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law thrown out of court, despite a federal judge’s ruling that it can proceed. The 11th-hour move for interlocutory appeal, which seeks to stay proceedings and block discovery, was surprisingly formulated at the same time that President Obama was reassuring LGBT activists that he still firmly opposes the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner earlier this month in Washington, DC.
“After President Obama clearly stated that his highest priority for the LGBT community was to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, it is quite troubling to see this ‘about face,’” said Terry W. Hamilton, national Chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans. “This aggressive move by President Obama’s Justice Department seriously undermines not only his commitment to our community and to the defense of our nation, but it also casts doubt on the motives of those at the highest levels of LGBT leadership in Washington who refuse to criticize the President over this double speak.”
The case in question, Log Cabin Republicans vs. the United States of America, is the first direct challenge to the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law filed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Lawrence v. Texas. It is also the only contemporary legal challenge to this law to succeed at the district court level. One of the injured parties named in the case, Alexander Nicholson, is a former U.S. Army Human Intelligence Collector who speaks multiple languages, including Arabic, and who was fired because of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law just six months after 9/11. Another injured party in the case, listed simply as ‘John Doe’ currently serves in the Armed Forces and would face a discharge if his identity were revealed.
“These continued obstructions launched by the Obama Justice Department are as insulting to the LGBT community as they are a serious threat to our military readiness,” remarked Log Cabin Republicans spokesman Charles T. Moran. “The constant delay tactics and attempts to have this case hurriedly dismissed without any discovery or argument would be a disservice to all those who have been involuntarily and abruptly fired under this law.”
District Court Judge Virginia Phillips of the Central District Court of California will consider the defendant’s motion on November 16th, 2009. The law firm of White & Case LLP has been representing Log Cabin Republicans since the case was initially filed over 4 ½ years ago.
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Log Cabin Republicans promotes legislation to provide basic fairness for gay and lesbian Americans and works to build a more inclusive GOP. The 30-year old organization has state and local chapters nationwide, a full-time office in Washington, DC, a federal political action committee and state political action committees.
Oct 11th, 2009 by Mark
October 10, 2009
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HAS FAILED TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON PROMISES MADE TO LGBT COMMUNITY AND INSTRUCTED JUSTICE DEPT TO BLOCK EFFORTS TO OVERTURN ‘DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL’ POLICY
(Washington, DC) - Log Cabin Republicans issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s speech Saturday at the Human Rights Campaign’s gala:
“President Obama may have the highest level of respect for our community, but his lack of actual progress overshadows any kind of campaign-style promises he may make,” commented Terry Hamilton - Log Cabin Republicans National Board Chairman. “Barack Obama is the President now - he gave the same speech tonight that we have heard many times before. Being an ally means that you need to need to not just ‘have gay friends’ but know what we are experiencing, and most importantly to do something about it.”
President Obama tonight promised to repeal the damaging & dangerous “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Currently, Log Cabin Republicans is the only organization with an active lawsuit given standing by the federal courts challenging the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and was the first case introduced on the issue after the landmark Lawrence decision.
Despite the President’s promise this evening, he has instructed his Justice Department to fight Log Cabin’s lawsuit, as well as other court cases challenging this LGBT discriminatory policies. Find more information at :
http://www.logcabin.org/logcabin/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=25795643
“If President Obama is serious about repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, he can take action tomorrow and instruct his Justice Department to drop its challenge to our case,” says Hamilton.
Log Cabin Republicans National Spokesperson Charles T. Moran comments -
“Gays and lesbians are not looking for the same ‘hope and change rhetoric’ that we’ve heard for so long. The President’s speech tonight rings of hollow promises that we have all heard before. While he gives his speech tonight at the HRC, his senior aides in the White House are engaged in a political game shutting down and putting the breaks on any substantive progress in efforts to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, ‘Defense of Marriage Act’ and pass employment non-discrimination through legislative and judicial channels. It is time that President Obama stops talking about bringing forth a ‘better America’ and starts making it happen.”
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Log Cabin Republicans promotes legislation to provide basic fairness for gay and lesbian Americans and works to build a more inclusive GOP. The 30-year old organization has state and local chapters nationwide, a full-time office in Washington, DC, a federal political action committee and state political action committees.
Oct 4th, 2009 by admin
Doug Grow wrote about Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota and chapter chair Mark Knief as we represented at the GOP state convention in St. Paul on Saturday. Here’s a snippet:
…the Log Cabin Republicans — an organization for gay and lesbian Republicans — seem to believe that the younger generation in the party doesn’t want to waste political capital on such things as gay marriage.
“I think that the party rhetoric is different than the real attitudes,” said Mark Knief, a Minneapolis resident who is chairman of the Minnesota’s Log Cabin members. “I don’t think the younger generation sees it (homosexuality) as an issue.’’
Knief said he was a little anxious when he arrived at the River Centre to man the Log Cabin booth at the convention.
“But everyone has been cordial,” he said.
Well, just about everyone.
One woman dropped by the booth to tell Knief that “AIDs is God’s judgment.’’
Overall, though, Knief said, it’s easier to “come out to Republicans than it is to come out and tell your gay friends that you are a Republican. I think the party is changing. It has to.”
Thanks to Mark for being a presence at the state convention and reminding the GOP that inclusion wins!
Sep 16th, 2009 by Mark
Thanks to all who joined the LCR Happy Hour at Tickles on Sept 2. Now its time to get down to a bit of business.
Our September meeting will be held On Thursday, September 17th at the Wilde Roast Cafe (518 Hennepin Ave E, Mpls) starting promptly at 6:30pm. We are pleased that the Republican-endorsed candidate for Mayor of Minneapolis, “Papa” John Kolstad, will be joining us.
John has been a Minneapolis resident, business owner and community leader for over 30 years and a musician and recording artist for 40 years.
Come learn about and ask John questions on his vision for a smaller, more transparent city government and his plans to bring economic opportunity and prosperity back to Minneapolis. He has stated some of his priorities to achieve his vision:
• Restore transparency and accountability to city government
• Control government spending and eliminate wasteful and unnecessary programs
• Remove barriers to small business formation and success
• Stop the ruinous property tax increases
• Eliminate the bureaucratic and short-sighted city planning department
For more information:
http://www.minneapolisrepublicans.org/documents/kolstad_flyer_709.pdf
See you Thursday night!!
Jul 10th, 2009 by admin
Thank you all who came by our Twin Cities Pride Festival booth–we had a great time and hope you enjoyed our colorful
“Gay, Proud, Republican” stickers.
Also welcome to those of you who expressed interest in joining and/or learning more about our organization.
You are invited to our next meeting, this coming Monday, July 13, in the Parlour room of the Wilde Roast Cafe at 518 East
Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis from 6:30 to 8pm. PLEASE NOTE–it is on Monday,not Thursday, the day we have met on in the past.
Our special guest will be Republican State Senator Paul Koering of Fort Ripley, one of the few gay members of the Minnesota
Legislature. He will be reporting on what’s happening in State Government, especially the results of the recent legislative
session. He may also talk about his possible entry into the 2010 Gubernatorial race, since incumbent Governor Tim Pawlenty hasannounced that he is not running again.
We will also have an update on Log Cabin Republican activities, including Pride, LCR’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” lawsuit, press
releases calling out the Obama Administration’s weak efforts on GLBT issues, and an upcoming LCR Trustee Strategy Retreat
scheduled for September.
We hope you can come–we value your interest and support. Help us get a count by RSVP’ing us at info@mnlogcabin.org .
If you have any questions or suggestions please email our Chapter Chair Mark Knief at markk@mnlogcabin.org , or you can
call me, Alan, at 612-868-9752.
Alan Shilepsky
Treasurer
Log Cabin Republicans–Minnesota Chapter
http://www.mnlogcabin.org/
info@mnlogcabin.org
Jul 1st, 2009 by Mark
(Los Angeles, CA) – On June 9, 2009, Judge Virginia A. Phillips of the Central District of California denied the U.S. Government’s attempt to dismiss Log Cabin Republicans’ lawsuit challenging the U.S. military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy as unconstitutional. Judge Phillips’ ruling is the culmination of a 4½-year effort to reach a preliminary ruling on the merits of the case.
Log Cabin Republicans’ case was the first direct challenge to the Policy filed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which held that criminalization of homosexual conduct by the State of Texas was unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause.
“More than four years later and with the wind at our backs, Log Cabin Republicans is proud to continue the fight to repeal this policy, which puts our nation’s security and military readiness at risk,” said Terry Hamilton, Board Chairman of Log Cabin Republicans. “While we hoped the Obama Administration and Democrats in Congress would fulfill their promise to do away with ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ legislatively, we cannot stand idly by while this policy continues to violate constitutional freedoms, especially at a time when able-bodied volunteers are needed in our military.”
The prominent international law firm White & Case LLP has been handling the case for Log Cabin Republicans. “We are gratified by the court’s order denying the government’s motion to dismiss the complaint brought by the Log Cabin Republicans,” said Dan Woods, White & Case litigation partner in Los Angeles. “This is the first facial challenge to ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ to survive such a motion since the landmark Lawrence case. The lawsuit can now proceed like any other civil case, and we will have the opportunity to conduct discovery and prove that the policy is unfairly discriminatory, does not work, should never have been implemented, and should be reversed.”
“Log Cabin Republicans has been consistently lobbying Congress, the Clinton, Bush and Obama Administrations since President Clinton signed ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ into law in 1993,” states Log Cabin Republicans Spokesman Charles T. Moran. “We are confidant that the ruling from Judge Phillips gives us ample space to make our arguments in ways that other legal challenges against ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ have not been able to.”
The injured party in the case, Alexander Nicholson, a former U.S. Army Human Intelligence Collector who speaks multiple languages, including Arabic, was honorably discharged early pursuant to ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ just six months after 9/11.
The Court has scheduled a hearing for July 6 to discuss, in detail, the scope of discovery and a schedule for the case going forward.
The order from the court may be found here:
http://online.logcabin.org/assets/pdf/log-cabin-order.pdf
Follow Log Cabin on twitter at: https://twitter.com/LogCabinGOP
Jun 25th, 2009 by admin
Be sure to stop by our booths at the Twin Cities Gay Pride Festival on June 27 and 28. We are working in conjunction with the Minneapolis Republicans to be a visible presence at Pride.
Our plan this year is threefold: 1) To increase awareness of Log Cabin Republicans, 2) To point out that there are high profile Republicans in favor of gay marriage, and 3) work toward making it to be okay to “come out as a Republican.”
Oh yeah, and to have a little fun as well!
Please consider stopping by our booth in Loring Park this Saturday or Sunday and show your support for Log Cabin Republicans and GLBT equality!
Happy Pride!
Jun 21st, 2009 by admin
The following is written by Charles Moran, a spokesperson for Log Cabin Republicans.
Marriage is a sacred institution, but it’s sacred for what it stands for, not what defines it.
Throughout world history, it was commonplace for marriage to be more about feudal lords marrying off sons and daughters for geopolitical alliances, or for the linking of houses and families for monetary gain. Love wasn’t even an issue. Marrying out of one’s social caste? Don’t even think about it. Until 50 years ago, one really couldn’t marry outside of one’s own ethnicity/race in many parts of this nation.
Marriage, just like humanity, has come a long way since countries were united because of the forced marriage of children.
But more than a religious and cultural upbringing that many share, the conviction as a true conservative compels an advocacy for marriage equality. Anybody with a strong commitment to protecting individual liberties, securing personal freedoms and advocating for small government, letting people live their lives by their own choosing without someone else telling them how to live it, should be supportive of marriage equality. Continue Reading »
May 6th, 2009 by admin
MINNEAPOLIS, May 7, 2009-Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota lend our support to House File 1198, a bill to reduce harassment and bullying in our public schools, including based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Right now the Minnesota law requires a model policy covering harassment and violence, not bullying and intimidation, and incorporates the categories of sexual orientation and gender identity only by reference to a different chapter, not explicitly.
Because gay and lesbian youth experience a disproportionate amount of bullying and harassment, to the detriment of their well-being and their ability to do well in school, it seems wrong to exclude them from the explicit attention of a model harassment policy for schools. HF1198 would correct this.
Frankly, our Log Cabin board members, as conservatives, have concerns about proliferating “protected classes” and “victim groups.” But if the State is going to address harassment issues in the schools–and include other categories explicitly–it would be negligent to exclude a group that is at significantly higher risk than the average student for harassment and bullying.
Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota promotes legislation to provide basic fairness for gay and lesbian Americans and works to build a more inclusive GOP. It is a chapter of Log Cabin Republicans, a 30-year old organization which has state and local chapters nationwide, a full-time office in Washington, DC, a federal political action committee and state political action committees.
