Monday, September 27, 2010

Do Bachmann & Emmer Want to Reinstate Minnesota's Sodomy Laws?

Reporters need to ask that question. On Saturday's post we has the audio from Bradlee Dean's radio show in which Bradlee Dean mentioned that his new movie included video of Bachmann and Emmer. The audio also included a clip in which Bradlee Dean referred to homosexuals as "criminals". Bradlee Dean frequently calls gays criminals on his show which broadcasts now in Washington DC as well as Minnesota.

Bradlee Dean claims homosexuals are breaking the law because Minnesota's sodomy laws are still on the books and the 2001 court decision is invalid because, in Bradlee Dean's version of "constitutionalism" God's law overrules judges.

Let's take a look at that 2001 court decision:

The case challenging the sodomy law, Doe et al. v. Ventura et al.,94 was decided in 2001 by a judge in Minneapolis, Delilah Pierce. In one of the best organized challenges to such a law, a coalition of plaintiffs including Gay men, Lesbians, heterosexuals, and disabled persons, presented an array of arguments against the law, including some not seen in other states. Under Minnesota law, licensed professionals can lose their licenses for violating any criminal statute, whether or not that crime affects their profession, and any property renters can be evicted from rental properties for violating any criminal statute on the premises. As a result, the group of plaintiffs could cite both a fear of criminal prosecution as well as loss of professional livelihood and possibly a place to live if the sodomy law remained on the books.


These are examples the ACLU gave the court:

The ACLU's clients in the case are state citizens whose jobs, homes and relationships with their children were threatened by the sodomy law, including:

A quadriplegic married man who lives in Minneapolis, identified for privacy reasons only as "John Doe." Because of his disability, the only forms of intimacy he is capable of engaging in with his wife were among those criminalized under the sodomy statute.

A married elementary school teacher in Minneapolis, Mark Roe. Teachers can lose their credentials if they are found to be violating state law, including the sodomy statute.

A lesbian attorney in Minneapolis, who rents a townhouse. Identified as "Jane Doe" in the lawsuit, she could have faced eviction from her home because her lease prohibits illegal activity.

A gay law student in Minneapolis, Phil Duran, who lives in an apartment with a similar lease. Duran took the state bar exam recently - a test that could have been moot because individuals who violate state law, including the sodomy statute, can be disbarred.

A divorced gay man in Minneapolis, Kim Nyhus, who has visitation rights with his children. A former Methodist minister who is now working toward Episcopal ordination, Nyhus feared losing visitation with his children because of the state sodomy statute.

The Minnesota Lavender Bar Association, a group of and for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered lawyers and law students. The Association is a plaintiff on behalf of its members statewide, who were directly threatened by the sodomy statute.

The ACLU also noted the 1997 arrest and prosecution of a Beltrami County man who engaged in consensual oral sex with a woman. The sodomy law also was used for years to help prevent passage of a state law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. That law was finally enacted in 1993.


There you have it - Bradlee Dean doesn't just want gays to be prosecuted, locked up, lose their homes and jobs etc... but hetereosexuals too. Every week, Bradlee Dean is advocating law enforcement persecute people for what they do in the privacy of their homes in defiance of the court's decision.

What Bradlee Dean rants about every week is nothing short of the overthrow of the government by a small bunch of theocrats that include Bachmann and Emmer. If Bachmann and Emmer refuse to throw Bradlee Dean under the bus, it should be assumed that Bachmann and Emmer share Dean's extremist views.

Reporters should also request the video clips of Emmer and Bachmann from Bradlee Dean's movie so the public can decide for themselves whether Bachmann and Emmer support Bradlee Dean.

During the 2008 campaign season, Michele Bachmann made an issue of Barack Obama's "associations" with Rev. Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers:

"Why isn’t it appropriate to ask about the formative relationships he’s had? The types of relationships that may have influenced Barack Obama’s views on public policy and on government decision making? Why is the media more intent on learning the type of plumbing license Joe the Plumber has than on exploring the obvious questions about Barack Obama’s formative relationships with people such as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers — people with views far outside the mainstream, where most voters find themselves?"


Are Bradlee Dean's views mainstream? Do most voters agree that everything except Bradlee Dean-approved sexual behavior between consenting adults should be illegal?

Let's listen to those clips again:

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