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The Minneapolis City Council received widespread support for repealing the longstanding ban on venues, such as bathhouses, ahead of an upcoming vote on Wednesday.
The council held its second public hearing regarding ordinances that would repeal the ban on venues where consenting adults can engage in sexual activity and provide new regulations regarding their business.
At the hearing, council members heard from over 30 residents on repealing the ban with several LGBTQ activists speaking in favor of ending the ban, which they claim targeted people in same-sex relationships and individuals with HIV and AIDS.
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“Our task is not to eliminate places where people have sex but bring people out of the shadows where we can give them the tools that we have in place. Research has shown that pushing sexual activity into less visible spaces does not eliminate the risk. It makes outreach and education more difficult,” Aliveness Project researcher Jay Orne said at the hearing.
Another LGBTQ activist, Patrick Scully, spoke about living during the time of the original ban in 1988.
“I have lived most of my life criminalized and excluded by the system. Discrimination against me was legal until I was almost 40 years old in Minnesota. Sex was a crime in Minnesota until I was in my 50s. Marriage was not an option until I was in my 60s,” Scully said. “So don’t expect me to live my life like you live your life if you’re a heterosexual. You forced me to find other ways to live my life.”
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Other speakers promoted the benefits repealing the ban could have on the tourism industry. Activists with the Safer Sex Spaces Coalition also argued that repealing the ban could help promote healthy practices and give LGBTQ communities a safe space for sex.
Though Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey did not consider the ban to be a top priority for his administration, he indicated to MPR News that he would sign a repeal if it were passed by the city council.
Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.
While LGBTQ+ advocates are pushing for the 1988 ordinance to be reversed, the first openly gay member of the Minneapolis City Council, Brian Coyle, helped pass the law, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported. The outlet noted that Coyle said at the time that many members of the LGBTQ+ community supported the ban. Coyle was diagnosed with HIV in 1986 but did not publicly acknowledge it until 1991, the same year that he died of AIDS-related complications at age 47, the Tribune reported.
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Council Member Jason Chavez, the only out LGBTQ+ member of the council, pushed back on the idea that overturning the ban would be disrespecting Coyle’s legacy.
“I have deep respect for Brian Coyle, and I know when he did this vote it was because of an epidemic that was impacting my community. But, at the same time, there were folks who supported the efforts to ban this because of homophobia. Because they did not believe in the existence of LGBTQ+ people, and that can not be removed from history,” Chavez said.
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The city council will hold a vote on the ordinance next week.
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
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