Posts Tagged As: St. Paul MN

Major Ex-Gay Conference Headed to St. Paul in 2012

Jim Burroway

July 15th, 2011

Exodus International, the nation’s largest ex-gay umbrella group, has announced that they will hold their annual conference in St. Paul next year:

Plans are underway already for the 37th Annual Exodus Freedom Conference being held June 27-30 in the Twin Cities of Minnesota at Northwestern College.  Please consider giving now towards our scholarship fund so that we can make sure everyone who wants to be there can be there.  And, please consider being there yourself. It is a transforming experience!

They will be holding their conference in the Bachmann’s home turf. Now that will be interesting.

Update: Others are reporting that this is the same ex-gay conference in which, in 2004, Michele Bachmann gave her welcoming remarks. That’s not accurate. Bachmann gave her opening remarks at a Love Won Out conference, which is a one-day roadshow put on about six times each year marketing ex-gay therapy to gay people and — much more often, according to the typical attendance — to their parents.

On the other hand, the so-called “Freedom” conference is Exodus’s annual five-day conference, and is their signature flagship event. It is not a marketing event. It is the real deal, where ex-gay people from all over the country — and even around the world — come together for five days of conferences, worskshops, lectures, and worship. Think of it this way: where LWO is the infomercial, the Freedom Conference is the actual Clapper. What Bachmann spoke at was the theater poster; this is the second act. The third act, too often, ends badly.

NOM gets best turnout in St. Paul, larger crowd counterprotests

Timothy Kincaid

July 28th, 2010

Today the National Organization for Marriage got the largest turnout to date for their Tour of Mostly-Empty City Plazas. Yes the plaza in St. Paul, Minnesota, was still mostly empty, and counter-protesters outnumbered them, but the crowd was not as embarrassingly small as it has been at most stops.

From Trial Tracker

In the largest NOM turnout to date, I hand-counted 163 NOM supporters before I stopped to file this blog post.

Despite this, NOM supporters were still outnumbered by supporters of equality. A hand-count total of 217 equality supporters showed up to outnumber NOM supporters. The largest contingent of equality supporters stood behind the NOM rally before marching up the steps and inside the State House for a rally. 33 equality supporters have stayed behind, silently holding signs and rainbow flags.

In St. Paul the marriage supports did not chant or otherwise disrupt NOM’s message.

UPDATE: More in from Courage Campaign:

At the conclusion of the equality event, activists went back outside, lined the NOM rally in a semi-circle and turned their backs to the speakers in a silent counter-protest.

Outside, Brian Brown was giddy and despite his insistence otherwise, even his speakers are becoming more fringe.

“America is becoming a nation of bastards,” one NOM speaker stated from the podium to applause from the crowd. “You can dress a pig in a tuxedo, but it’s still a pig,” he continued.

More Protests Yet To Come

Jim Burroway

November 11th, 2008

The protests against Prop 8 continue without any apparent letup. Here are some more scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, including one in St. Paul, Minnesota:

Tuesday, November 11:
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
1:00 p.m.
Corner of Haven and Foothill.

Redlands, CA
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Redlands Mormon Temple
1761 Fifth Avenue

Santa Monica, CA
5:00 p.m.
321 Santa Monica Pier

Fresno, CA
5:00 p.m.
Fink-White Playground
Amador St and B St.

San Francisco, CA
5:00 p.m. – 10:00p.m.
San Francisco City Hall
1 Dr Carton B Goodlett Pl

San Diego, CA
5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
San Diego Mormon Temple
7474 Charmant Drive

Los Angeles, CA
6:00 p.m.
La Cienega Blvd and Centinela Ave

Saint Paul, MN
3:00 p.m.
State Capitol (Meet on Old Main Lawn)

Wednesday, November 12
Encinitas, CA
4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Corner of Saxony and Encinitas Blvd.
Phone: 5305759264
dancewithwolves@wildmail.com

West Hollywood, CA
7:00 p.m.
Santa Monica & San Vicente

New York, NY
6:30 p.m.
Manhattan Mormon Temple
125 Columbus Ave at 65th Street

San Diego, CA
7:00 p.m.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral
2728 Sixth Ave.
For more info, contact Chris Harris at (619) 298-7261 or harrisc@stpaulcathedral.org.

    

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