Democrats, gays, and Jewish groups have accused Lindner of "homophobic rewriting of history". 

The committee has set aside next week to hear arguments for Lindner's censure.    

The censure motion calls it "a case of Holocaust revisionism that brought disrepute to the legislative body." 

During debate on two bills by the Republican representative that would repeal gay rights laws in the state, Lindner said gays and lesbians falsely attempt to portray themselves as victims in society.  He then claimed that as an example gays were lying when they sited thousands of gays who were exterminated or sent to concentration camps by the Nazis.  

"It never happened," Lindner told the House. 

"I was a child during World War II, and I've read a lot about World War II," he said. "It's just been recently that anyone's come out with this idea that homosexuals were persecuted to this extent. There's been a lot of rewriting of history."

Days later he angered HIV/AIDS patients and African Americans when he said: "If you want to sit around and wait until America becomes another African continent, you do that," Lindner said. "But I'm going to do something about that."

Lindner's legislation would remove the state human rights amendment that protects gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Minnesotans from discrimination in employment, housing, education and other areas. It also would remove sexual orientation as a protected class in hate crimes laws

At next week's censure hearing Democratic leaders are planning to supply both a Jewish Holocaust survivor who says she witnessed anti-gay attacks and a local university professor who has compiled an archive of documents outlining Nazi persecution against gays.

To date Lindner has refused to apologize for his remarks. His lawyer, James Anderson, has repeatedly insisted that Lindner is the victim of persecution against Christians.

"It is basically an attempt to muzzle a Christian, and, I think, at the bottom of it all is liberals today are not going be satisfied until every Christian is walking around wearing a muzzle." 

©365Gay.com Ltd® 2003 

Attorney for Anti-Gay Minn. Rep Offends Black Lawmaker
April 3, 2003
Gfn.com News

A recent letter from a lawyer for Minnesota state representative Arlon Lindner has upset Rep. Neva Walker, an African American state lawmaker, because it listed her as Walker-Black.