Transcripts

KAREN LOUISE BOOTHE: The 24-member task force was appointed by Governor Arnie Carlson in September 1992, and has spent the last three years conducting research, investigating current issues, and traveling around the state for public meetings. The 81-page report covers a range of issues dealing with youth, politics, education, and greater Minnesota. Task force chair, David Waterbury.

DAVID WATERBURY: We heard again, and again, and again throughout the state that gay, lesbian, bisexual youth, transgender youth are at significant risk. We saw real evidence of hostility in greater Minnesota. The further we got away from the Twin Cities, the greater this problem became.

KAREN LOUISE BOOTHE: Task force member Geraldine Sell says a recent survey conducted at a Minneapolis high school found that a majority of boys would rather be assaulted than called gay.

GERALDINE SELL: So that gives you an idea of how intense the problem is and how hostile the environment can be for some of these students in our high schools. And I think that our recommendation that we create a safe environment in every high school for students throughout the state of Minnesota and in all youth-serving organizations, I think, is right on target.

KAREN LOUISE BOOTHE: Sell says gay and lesbian youth are at greater risk of homelessness, abuse, depression, and suicide, a statistic that came to life during a visit to the Minneapolis gay and lesbian youth center called District 202. It's one of only a handful of such centers in the country and the only one in Minnesota. Every night, young gays and lesbians gather there to socialize, seek support, and sometimes get a meal.

A young man we'll call Anthony told of his own suicidal thoughts during high school when classmates picked on him for being gay.

MAN: I almost tried once, actually. I went to the bathroom and almost cut my wrist, but I didn't because I looked and said, well, there's more to life. But still, I thought about suicide, jumping off bridges because there was one nearby where I live. Just crashing the car into a tree or doing things-- little things like that.

KAREN LOUISE BOOTHE: The task force wants the governor to issue an executive order, announcing a campaign to create safe environments in all Minnesota schools and direct the Department of Education to include sexual orientation and personnel training.

Another top task force policy recommendation is directed at improving the hostile social climate for gays and lesbians living in greater Minnesota. Task force member Mark Chicola of Moorhead says that in many of the state's smaller cities and rural areas, gays and lesbians live in fear and isolation.

MARK CHICOLA: There is a world of difference between the Twin Cities, and Moorhead, and Morris, and Thief River Falls, and Albert Lea, and so on. In some communities, there is no one who is willing to speak up, to write a letter to the editor supportive of gay issues. In some communities, there are people, whether they be civic leaders or religious leaders, that are openly hostile to gay and lesbian people. And those are very difficult communities for people to live in and function well in.

KAREN LOUISE BOOTHE: Other recommendations by the task force include establishing a statewide council to investigate such issues and to employ all means possible to ensure that policies and laws, now on the books, are enforced. The task force also issued a challenge to gays and lesbians too, citing a tendency toward internal racism and sexism within the gay and lesbian community itself.

Melinda Perez is the executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force based in Washington, DC. She says the report addresses key issues needed to confront what she says is a greater shift toward anti-gay initiatives in states across the country, as well as attacks on school curricula teaching about homosexuality. And while the report raises some serious concerns over issues affecting this group, Perez says the state as a whole is a good place to live if you're gay or lesbian.

MELINDA PEREZ: As a state, I would rank it actually quite high in terms of its diversity and understanding. Now, as is pointed out in the report, there are still many instances of discrimination and homophobia and fear that are out there. So I don't want to say that everything is fine. But I have to say, as states go in this country, the state of Minnesota is long known for a progressive tradition of inclusion, of civil liberties. And I think that anyone who lives in this state has a lot to be proud of that way.

KAREN LOUISE BOOTHE: Melinda Perez, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force based in Washington, DC. The state report now goes to the governor and other policy leaders for consideration. For the FM news station, this is Karen Louise Boothe in Minneapolis.