The Minnesota Star Tribune is under attack after it chose to publish a full-page hysterical, fear-mongering, ugly, anti-trans ad.
Many readers are angered and disappointed that the Star-Tribune, Minnesota’s largest newspaper, yesterday published an ad that preys on parents’ fears and on members of the transgender community, especially minors.
“A male wants to shower beside your 14-year old daughter,” the words of the ad, super-imposed against a bathroom-tiled shower wall, read. “Are YOU ok with that?”Â
The ad was paid for by Minnesota Child Protection League.
It asks parents to contact Minnesota State High School League officials and ask them to oppose a policy for transgender students.
“Minnesota is by no means the first state to have its high school activities association consider such a policy,” The Column, a Minnesota nonprofit LGBT media organization reports. “Associations in Illinois, California, Maine, Colorado, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut have had similar policies for several years. Even associations in states that are considered conservative have adopted such policies including Nebraska in 2012, and North Carolina and Virginia in 2014. Minnesota’s neighbors to the south and west have also approved of the policies. Iowa approved similar policies earlier this spring. The South Dakota High School Activities Association approved such recommendations in June.”
The Minnesota Child Protection League’s “spokesperson is Barb Anderson, founder of the Parents Action League,” Minneapolis City Pages reports. The Parents Action League is listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s active anti-gay hate groups page.Â
“The greatest threat to our freedom and the health and well-being of our children,” Anderson has said, according to Minneapolis City Pages, “is from this radical homosexual agenda that is just so pervasive.”
The Star-Tribune’s Vice President of of marketing and public relations says the ad “met all the requirements of our ad policy.”
Readers are none too pleased, and took to Twitter to say so:
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Image by David Brauer via Twitter
Hat tip:Â Minneapolis City Pages