Minneapolis City Council hears LGBTQ support for bathhouse ban repeal
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The Minneapolis City Council received broad support to lift a long-standing ban on venues such as bathhouses ahead of a vote on Wednesday.
The council held its second public hearing on regulations that would lift the ban on venues where consenting adults can engage in sexual activity and introduce new regulations for their business.
At the hearing, council members heard from more than 30 residents about lifting the ban, and several LGBTQ activists spoke in favor of ending the ban; They claimed that the ban targeted people in same-sex relationships and individuals with HIV and AIDS.
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The Minneapolis City Council held a public hearing on ordinances that could ban the city’s adult bathhouse ban. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Aliveness Project researcher Jay Orne said at the hearing: “Our mission is not to eliminate places where people have sex, but to bring people out of the shadows and give them the tools we have. Research has shown that pushing sexual activity into less visible areas does not eliminate the risk. This makes outreach and education more difficult.”
Another LGBTQ activist, Patrick Scully, talked about living during the first ban in 1988.
“I lived most of my life criminalized and ostracized by the system. It was legal to discriminate against me in Minnesota until I was almost 40. Sex was a crime in Minnesota until I was in my 50s. Marriage wasn’t an option until I was in my 60s,” Scully said. “So if you’re straight, don’t expect me to live my life the way you live your life. You’ve forced me to find other ways to live my life.”
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LGBTQ activists claimed that the initial ban in 1988 targeted people in same-sex relationships. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Other speakers talked about the benefits that lifting the ban would bring to the tourism industry. Activists at the Coalition of Safe Sex Spaces also argued that lifting the ban could help promote healthy practices and provide LGBTQ communities with a safe space for sex.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey did not view the ban as a top priority for his administration, but stated: To MPR News He said he would sign a quitclaim deed if approved by the city council.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.
As LGBTQ+ advocates pushed for a reversal of the 1988 ordinance, Brian Coyle, the first openly gay member of the Minneapolis City Council, helped pass the law. Minnesota Stars Tribune reported. The publication noted that Coyle said at the time that many members of the LGBTQ+ community supported the ban. According to the Tribune, Coyle was diagnosed with HIV in 1986 but did not publicly admit it until 1991; He died of AIDS-related complications that same year at the age of 47.
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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stated that he would sign the regulation after listening to the statements of LGBTQ activists. (Axel Schmidt/Reuters)
Council Member Jason Chavez, the council’s only LGBTQ+ member, pushed back against the idea that lifting the ban would disrespect Coyle’s legacy.
“I have deep respect for Brian Coyle, and I know he took this vote because of an epidemic that was affecting my community. But at the same time, there were people who supported the effort to ban this because of homophobia. Because they didn’t believe in the existence of LGBTQ+ people, and that can’t be erased from history,” Chavez said. he said.
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The city council will vote on the ordinance next week.
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
