Duluth city councilors push for vote on gay marriage issue
December 18, 2011 at 6:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
The issue of gay marriage will come before the Duluth City Council tonight when Councilors Jeff Anderson and Sharla Gardner introduce a resolution opposing an amendment to the state Constitution that would allow Minnesota to legally recognize only opposite-sex unions.
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I would hope that the Duluth City Council would have more pressing issues to spend their time on than this nonbinding resolution.
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We are going to have fun with this one and have a special picture in mind. This is why the councilors are referred to as clowncilors.
Water main breaks, $200 million unfunded retiree health insurance promised, Fond Du Lac Casino owes the city about $20 million, and lots more are being bypassed to discuss the gay marriage issue. The city of Duluth has no impact on this national debate on marriage, none!
This further shows the total incompetence of “Barney” and “Sharia”. This is a complete waste of time by these DFL CLOWNcilors!
Also, what’s up with the word push in the title of this article?
Vintage DFL Duluth! You can’t make this stuff up!
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“‘We’re the third-largest city in the state, and we’ve traditionally taken the lead on a lot of social issues,’ Gardner said.” Why does government intrude in social issues of any kind at any level? Social issues are the concern of individuals. People want to use government to impose their views on others.
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Marriage is an individual, not government issue, yes. No one should have special, government-enforced privileges — not heterosexuals, not homosexuals.
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I don’t know if there are or not. There was a time when income tax rates were higher for married couples. That was wrong. There was a time when income tax rates were lower for married couples. That was wrong. There should be no government influence on how people choose to live with partners. If there are pro-heterosexual marriage laws today, they should be repealed. Perhaps you should run for office or start a campaign to rectify this — and I suggest that respectfully.
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BTW, Duluth is the fourth largest city.
I think it is embarrassing that a city councilor isn’t aware of it, then uses it as justification for legislation.
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We have a massive water main break that washes out a complete street, an infrastructure that is past aged and they want to vote on what? He should be recalled as a councilperson. Wake up, that is not an important issue except, to 1% of the population. Unreal and stuck on Stupid!!
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I remember the voters ‘recalled’ a city councilor by the name of Agnew many years ago. I don’t know how to start the process…does anyone out there in readerland know how we get a recall started?
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Anderson didn’t run for re-election. Tonight’s his last meeting as a city councilor. Kind of too late to recall him. Gardner on the other hand will be around for a while to entertain the masses with her foolishness. Contact Jeff Cox, the city clerk, at jcox@duluthmn.gov
to find out how to start a recall if you really want to.
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The council can address as many issues relevant to city business as they can handle in one meeting. This issue doesn’t qualify.
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Look again.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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then it passed!
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10 % men and 5 % women…
Where do I go to protest that I’m not getting my fair share of lesbians?
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What would a pair of lesbians want with you?
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Racer x. Two points. I’ll type slowly so you will understand.
Point 1. It was a joke. Get it?
Like the OWS people wanting their fair share of everything.
Point 2. I see all of your comments end up being hidden due to low rating. Does that tell you something?
I never said I wanted a pair of them.
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Michael. Two points:
1:Some jokes are just plain bad, in bad taste and ignorant.
2:Really look at what gets the positive and negative results here. Like above where I said that the gay issue thing was qualifying for a vote and then the next comment that it passed. Both times my points were correct, but they were heavily thumbed down. All that means is even though what I said was correct the majority here don’t like it. All THAT means is the people that populate this little forum tend to lean a certain way. This shows nothing about popular sentiment here or in any other place.
Another factor is I am a confrontational person who happens to have views that run against the majority on this list.
Another factor is most of you are mo rons! HAhahahahahahahhahahahahahah!
I guess I just don’t care if you like me. Plus when my injury heals and I can get back to work I won’t have time for this crap.
Love,
Will
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Maybe it’s not the message that garners thumbs down. Maybe it’s the messenger. Now, go back and help that student buy a computer.
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Complete and total waste of time. Just a couple of politicians mugging for a quote. This is not the kind of thing we elected you guys to spend time on. Sheesh.
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We aren’t the 3rd largest city in Minnesota….haven’t been that for a long time.
What a waste of time.
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Just keep in mind, counselors, the fact that our President Barack Hussein Obama opposes gay marriage.
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Jeff Anderson and Sharla Gardner are gay but haven’t came out of the closet yet. Why else would they be pushing for this issue? I don’t think it’s right to be pushing personal agendas as a government employee.
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Are you kidding? I’d venture to say that EVERY elected official pushes some sort of personal issue while on the job. Event the most altruistic ones get into it because they see the need for change regarding issues that are important to them.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Don’t equate issues with personal issues. Certainly every office seeker has political preferences and expects to influence public policy. But not every policy deals with personal matters. In a city government, non personal matters would include such things as infrastructure, service contracts, zoning, taxes, licenses. Those are matters about which we can disagree, but are public. Marriage is an example of a personal matter and government has no business even recognizing it let alone attempting to influence it. And many candidates agree with that assertion and don’t attempt to use government to direct personal matters.
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DI, what gives? I’ve found myself in the uncomfortable position of giving you several thumbs-up lately. Am I growing senile in my old age, or are you turning over a new leaf? Or are you just bored?
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Nothing has changed with me. I would never change for anything for anyone. The world will change for me before I change anything in my life. I suspect that we have much in common except that I hate society, people, cops, government, business, religion and technology and would love nothing more than to see the eradication of all of them. That being said, it should also be made clear that even though we share a lot of things in common that there is nothing homo going on between us.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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“….I hate society, people, cops, government, business, religion and technology and would love nothing more than to see the eradication of all of them.”
C’mon now, you know I can’t let that one pass. You hate technology, but post it on the internet? Think about it.
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Exactly what I was thinking Hugh.
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I have thought it about, quite a bit more than you have.
You know how smokers hate cigarettes and want to stop? You know how some people want to get a divorce but it’s the hardest thing for them to do? You know how fat people would like to be slimmer but keep eating? You know how junkies hate the habit but keep on shooting up?
It’s all about having an addictive personality and those things which a person can get addicted to. Let me know if I have to explain it further to you and the rest of the world.
*sigh*
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Per the 2010 Census Duluth is 4th, but I’d bet dollars to donuts Duluth is at most 6th, perhaps even 8th.
1 Minneapolis † 382,578 Hennepin
2 Saint Paul †† 285,068 Ramsey
3 Rochester † 106,769 Olmsted
4 Duluth † 86,265 St. Louis
5 Bloomington 82,893 Hennepin
6 Plymouth 81,803 Hennepin
And as I’ve said before, as a Libertarian I would normally stand up for anyone to have the right to marry anyone they choose. However…..why is it the “gay community” wants equal rights in the form of marriage, but special rights in terms of hate crime legislation?
When I hear the HRC, GLAAD and other groups call for total equality, then I’ll support the issue.
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I don’t see it as an issue of rights. I see it as an attempt to redefine the parameters of an institution that has been stable for millennium across most human cultures.
I’m still waiting for a compelling reason to do it. “It isn’t fair” and “because I wanna” doesn’t cut it when you are tinkering with a bedrock societal institution.
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I wouldn’t call it “stable”, especially the last 50 years or so.
Besides, 1-Why get married and ruin a perfectly good friendship? 2-Never enter into a contract it takes people who charge by the hour to end.
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The parameters have been stable. People are people.
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DS how many straight people have been jailed, beaten or killed because they are straight? It had to be legislated because prevent mistreatment of a particular group.
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CL, there ARE laws against battery and murder regardless of the victim. What some of us don’t understand is the point of the redundant “hate” reference. Hate is involved in every crime.
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Enter the though police, who will have the power to jail you not for what you’ve done, but for what you think.
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I would personally support gay marraige, but our City Councilors were not elected to weigh in on social issues in which they have no binding authority. Nor did either Councilors Gardner or Anderson run for election touting their desire to make this resolution. Therefore, they have no right to forward their personal opinions on this matter as representational of the citizens of Duluth. Please stick to actions which directly affect the government of Duluth.
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Gardner is supposed to be speaking for the people of her District not her own agenda – Again, what has this got to do with the running of City Government and of her District? No business spending time on this issue. I really don’t care who marries who but I am against any group that demand that they be treated equally then go ahead and push for special treatment. This is not a City issue. Councilors should be concentrating on issues that affect the majority citizens (finances, roads, water main breaks, dealing with the problems caused by the Red Plan) Too bad we have lost Fedora’s voice. Seems he was one of the few on the Council that attempted to keep the rest of them on track.
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Hey Sharla and Jeff. Do your job! This isn’t your job!!! And get your facts straight, Sharla. Duluth isn’t nearly as important as you think it is, and neither are you and your agendas.
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I don’t get this, but than again, I don’t get much that happens in DFL, but why does the city have to take up an issue that the state is already taking up and dealing with. Sharla just wants some press.
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I don’t see this as a DFL or GOP issue. It’s just a matter of people using government to push their view on a personal matter on everyone else. The city shouldn’t be involved in this and neither should the state. Individuals can decide on their own what’s right for them. You and I don’t need the state’s help nor sanction to decide how to pick our partners.
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Nice to see you believe in laws, on top on laws that govern the same exact thing. What a waste the city’s time, and resources. Sharla needs to be recalled.
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You can watch it on public access television. The meetings are almost as dull there as they are in person.
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This is indeed silly. Councilors can indeed have their own opinions on the gay marriage issue with is all well and good and they have every right to work on those issues on a non-official level,….but to want to debate this in their official capacity and pass a resolution on an issue that is not germane to city business seems like a waste of time when this city has to many other issues under their purview that need immediate attention.
It’s good to be involved on this issue….but let’s try to effect change where changes can really be made which I don’t believe is at the local city council meeting. Duluth, as important as it thinks it is, isn’t really the venue for this issue. Reminds me of when I was new to town in the 1980′s and the city council debated a similar resolution involving the “Iran-Contra” situation. I guess back then we thought we held sway over foreign policy issues which is typically the responsibility of the federal govt…..or so I thought.
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I think most of the sentiment on this blog is “Why is our city council focused on this?”, not “Gay people don’t deserve marriage rights.”.
The fact of the matter is that by default this is government making decisions on what a religious institution can or cannot do, which is fundamentally wrong.
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The thing about marriage, as far as the gvmt is concerned, is that the religious person performing the ceremony has been authorized (legally) to marry the individuals, but also by their denomination. In some foreign countries, you get married first, by the legal person, then go to the church for the religious aspect. Likewise, first you get the legal divorce, then the church annulment. The ramification of the government recognizing a “gay marriage” are enormous and would have a negative impact on almost every aspect of our lives. Either way, it’s not for these bozoos to decide. On the city level any federal or state laws could invalidate their decision anyway.
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Boy, I don’t see that “common” thread anywhere. I do see that many folks posting here agree that City Council chambers are not the forum for this debate.
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They do need to address the deteriorating infrastructure under our streets known as our water pipe system. An extremely daunting and costly task.
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Is this the same City of Duluth that is fighting to keep street preachers out of Bentlyville? Hmmmm… Seems to be more concerned with legislating morality (as they see it) than attempting to run the business of the City.
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I resent that the counil will try to tell the world that I, as a resident of this city, am in favor of this resolution and its support of gay “marriage.” It is not the city council’s business and they are wasting time better spent on matters that are their responsibility. I.e., I agree with most posters on that.
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Millions in debt or underfunded projects, an infrastructure that is decaying from under our feet, a dysfunctional administration, and these councilors want to send WHAT!?!?
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BTW, 2 councilors do not, and can never pretend to, speak for the majority of Duluthians.
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the council is heavily liberal
And has been since way back when Duluth was a real City with a real future. Probably a cause and effect relationship to that trajectoiy.
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No, Anderson does not have the “right” to leave the council with a bang. He was elected to serve his constituents, not spout off with his personal opinion on legislation being considered by the state. He can do that on his own time, not on my time. He’s being paid to do the city’s work as a city councilor. The end. Nothing more and nothing less.
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Wow…
With so many issues facing the taxpayers of Duluth, the crumbling infrastructure, the ‘where’d the money go’ situation, the downtown casino, and on and on, it’s just amazing how many posters bit on this smokescreen that’s intended to do nothing else than to divert their attention from the real problems in Duluth.
Think, people…do you really believe that the City Council of Duluth is going to have ANY effect whatsoever on the ‘marriage vote’ next November?
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Mr. Fosle stated just what this issue is when he said it deserves the waste basket. Our council’s “opinion” on this issue is very important to me……about as important as your opinion is about how much sugar and cream I should have in my coffee.
I don’t have sugar with my coffee. “If God wanted sugar or cream in the coffee, he would have them on the same bush”
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DanH said:
No, Anderson does not have the “right” to leave the council with a bang
Tell that to his boyfriend!
If god wanted us to be homosexuals he would have created Adam and Steve!
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In an act of presumed moral superiority, six of our wise councilors have seen fit to speak for the community on this issue involving moral and natural laws.
Nobody in Minnesota is deprived of the right to marry in the traditional sense of the word. Marriage has been defined for millennia as the union of a man and a woman. It is a religious, moral, and natural law definition…natural law being obvious common sense based on the anatomical design of our bodies. Yet, these wise liberal councilors arrogantly talk of “educating” the community to accept their definition of moral and natural law with the supposed side benefit of attracting new inclusive-minded businesses as well…….b as in b, s as in s.
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I’ve been curious why Duluth’s population has been stagnant for decades while cities like Billings, Mt and Sioux Falls, Sd have been having rip roaring population growth over the same time period. Maybe it’s because the city council members of Sioux Falls and Billings are concerned with attracting businesses and the quality of life in the cities instead of wasting time on matters that have nothing to do with the city. Are the Duluth city council members actually being paid while they waste time on issues that are going to be resolved at the statewide level rather than the city level?
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Sodom and Gomorrah we also the bustling cities of their time. What’s your point?
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The point is in most cities people expect city council meetings to be devoted to city business not in having the paid council members sitting around wasting time on matters they have no control over. From all the articles on this forum it appears Duluth is dominated by liberal DFLers and not a place that would appeal to conservative people.
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In consideration of full disclosure, exactly what do you think of the evangelical Christians?
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So you admit to being an intolerant bigot where people of faith are involved. Charming. I guess you’re a hypocrite in many books too, because you don’t practice what you preach. At what point are you going to stop carrying this burden of hatred? Do you think I’m hurt by it? no. Only you. And that’s sad.
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while I understand the thought behind what they are doing, it just seems really interesting that Anderson happens to be doing this right before he goes off the council for his campaign. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to be able to say that he co-authored this legislation to court the progressive voters who want to see this issue changed, but that sure feels disingenuous to me. Hopefully I am wrong…
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Race isn’t behavior. You cannot legislate race or ethnicity. You can legislate behavior. There has never been a single shred of peer reviewed proof to show that homosexuality is anything more than a personal preference. If behavior becomes protected, what is to stop the pedophile, the voyeur, or the serial flasher from claiming the same protected status? And if your behavior entitles you to a special status, what of my behavior?
Gov’ts have long been allowed to regulate behavior. Those regulations are called laws. The Gov’t derives it’s authority from the people. If the people chose not to recognize deviant sexual behavior, so be it. Be gay rights are NOT civil rights.
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HUH? Earth to Racer, Earth to Racer. Come in Racer.
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Oh, good gravy. Can we just drop this? Don’t we have more important things to deal with such as the economy, unemployment, digging America out of this hole, etc…?
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That’s right.
“Delusions of Grandeur”, Dooloot?
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Sexual preference isn’t a race or gender. Kind of different.
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