April 9, 2003
Gfn.com News
ST. PAUL, Minn.The political future of a Republican
lawmaker is in the hands of the House Ethics Committee, which took testimony
Tuesday in a complaint over comments that offended both the gay and African
American communities.
The ethics complaint stems from the comments Arlon Lindner made last month on the House floor, when he said gay people were not exterminated or sent to concentration camps during World War II. "There's been a lot of rewriting of history," said Lindner. He is sponsoring a bill that would remove state civil rights protections for gays.
Lindner also said his bill is designed to prevent children from getting AIDS and sexually-transmitted diseases, and to keep the U.S. from "becoming another African continent." Rep. Keith Ellison, DFL-Minneapolis, one of two African-American state lawmakers, says Lindner disgraced the Minnesota House of Representatives."That question mark sitting over this building is whether we represent all the people of this state or not," Ellison said. "And whether or not an elected official, a person who holds an election certificate can spout bigoted language, mean-spirited, untrue statements designed to injure members of the community and members of this body. That is the issue."
Rep. Greg Davids, a Republican who sits on the ethics panel, called Lindner's comments "outrageous" and "stupid" but said the content wasn't as important as Lindner's right to say them.
"I think he said some very disgusting things, but the thing you come back to is, 'Did he have the right to say it?"' Davids said.
Lindner's attorney, James Anderson, who previously said he is "thrilled" to represent his client at no cost for standing up to the "gay agenda," says Lindner's critics are relying on media reports that took Lindner's comments out of context. Anderson says Lindner never denied that the Holocaust occurred, he simply questioned the extent to which the Nazis persecuted homosexuals.
Anderson said that even if Lindner told reporters that he wasn't convinced that homosexuals were persecuted, that wasn't the same thing as "denying" the Holocaust.
Two Republicans and two Democrats must decide whether there is probable cause to discipline Lindner. Lindner also faced an ethics charge three years ago, after he referred to a Jewish lawmaker's "irreligious left" views. Then, the Ethics Committee decided the comments didn't warrant disciplinary action.
Pioneer Press
With all the drama of a courtroom hearing, a state House panel Monday night began investigating a complaint against embattled six-term Rep. Arlon Lindner.
Lindner is accused of bringing the House into dishonor and disrepute for expressing doubts that homosexuals were persecuted under Nazism and for saying gay rights in Minnesota threatened to turn America into "another African continent."
"Mr. Lindner has disgraced this body. The fact of the matter is his conduct calls for discipline," Rep. Keith Ellison, DFL-Minneapolis, told the Ethics Committee. Ellison is one of eight Democrats who filed an ethics complaint against Lindner for his public comments earlier this month.
"The question mark sitting over this building is whether or not we represent all the people of this state," Ellison said.
The complaint alleges that Lindner's statements were outside norms of House behavior, causing the dishonor and disrepute.
As part of their proof, the Democrats read excerpts from letters written by a variety of people and groups, including NAACP Minneapolis, a local union, the Anti-Defamation League, an Evangelical Lutheran Church bishop and a tourist who reconsidered his plan to vacation in Minnesota.
Lindner and his attorney, James Anderson, said that while the Corcoran Republican may have said unpopular things, he did nothing wrong and the charges are without merit.
In a wide-reaching statement to the House panel, Lindner said he is a Christian who takes the Bible as a guide for living.
"The Bible teaches me that homosexual activity is wrong, sinful and harmful," he said. He also said he is a friend to "the Jew" and any charges that he is racist are "baseless."
Anderson, in his opening statement, said those who brought charges against Lindner are guilty of historical inaccuracies themselves and smeared Lindner's name.
"Arlon's name was tainted from one end of this state to the other with the most hateful of lies," said Anderson.
In front of the packed committee room, Anderson also took the opportunity to apologize to Rep. Neva Walker, DFL-Minneapolis and one of the sponsors of complaint, for sending her a letter addressed to Neva Walker-Black. Walker is African-American.
Anderson's wife, who is also his secretary, testified that she inadvertently took her husband's notation about Walker's race to be a notation about her name.
The first job of the Ethics Committee, which has two Republican and two Democratic-Farmer-Labor voting members, is to decide if there is cause for a complaint. The Democrats bringing the complaint asked the panel to censure Lindner for his comments and remove him from his chairmanship of the House Economic Development and Tourism division.
Minority Leader Matt Entenza, DFL-St. Paul, also a sponsor of the complaint, said he doesn't believe the complaint will get a fair hearing. He objected to several procedural rulings by the committee chair and called the panel a "kangaroo court."
After hearing from both sides and questioning Lindner, his attorney and the Democrats, the panel decided to adjourn without making any decision on the complaint.
Some did, however, express some opinions about Lindner's comments.
"I don't like what Rep. Lindner said it's outrageous," said Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston. "I can't say how stupid the things he said were."
But Davids said Lindner may have a right to say stupid things.
The committee will meet again to review tapes of Lindner speaking on the House floor about his beliefs part of the basis for the complaint and other audio matter. The date for that meeting was not set.
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