Minnesota official urged to resign

ST. PAUL (AP) — Some Minnesota’s Democrats are calling for a St. Paul City Council member to resign over anti-gay posts he made on Facebook in the past.

The LGBTQ and youth caucuses of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party plan to present a resolution at the party’s convention Sunday in St. Paul asking for Kassim Busuri to resign.

Busuri said he has never discriminated against anyone and that he represents all his constituents regardless of sexual orientation, but he won’t apologize for his past statements.

“My religious beliefs are very clear about homosexuality, but it’s my duty to protect others,” said Busuri, who is Muslim. “Those who are attacking me, I see it as Islamophobic, attacking me for my religious beliefs.”

Think tank official suspended

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota think tank official has been suspended for comments she made about Somali Americans in a New York Times story.

The story with the comments from Kim Crockett, vice president and general counsel of the conservative Center of the American Experiment, was published Thursday and examined the resistance to refugee resettlement in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

The Star Tribune reports that Crockett has been placed on an unpaid 30-day disciplinary suspension and the center said in a statement that her comments do not reflect its “views and values.”