LGBTQ activists, safer sex advocates and tourism supporters back an ordinance to repeal a 1988 ban.
By Catholics for Catholics
There was extensive support for the Minneapolis City Council for reversing the longstanding prohibition 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 take part in sexual activity and provide new regulations regarding their business, according to a story by Fox News.
Council members listened to over 30 residents on cancelling the ban, with several LGBTQ activists speaking in favor of abolishing the ban, which they claim targeted people in same-sex relationships and individuals with HIV and AIDS.
“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.
Patrick Scully, another LGBTQ activist, talked about living during the time of the original ban in 1988.
🚨WATCH: An LGBT activist in Minneapolis urges lawmakers to repeal a ban on adult bathhouses, claiming they are an "important part" of the queer community and that government should not try to "eliminate places where people have sex."
— Off The Press (@OffThePress1) June 18, 2026
Jay Orne, who works as a "harm reduction… pic.twitter.com/1PEbRU5d7Y
“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.”
Other speakers promoted the benefits of terminating 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.
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