Democrat Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey celebrated pride month by reversing a 38-year ban on adult bathhouses and sex venues that were closed during the 1980s AIDS epidemic.
Frey officially repealed the ban on Sunday after the Minneapolis City Council voted to repeal the ban on venues that allowed primarily gay adults to engage in sexual activity. The council repealed the ban in a 9-2 vote on Thursday, and Frey gave his stamp of approval days later, calling it the “best Pride weekend yet!!” (RELATED: ‘Why Is Chase Bank Gay?’ — Comedian Tim Dillon Hilariously Roasts Pride Month)
“Minneapolis stands with our LGBTQIA+ neighbors – we always will,” Frey said in a post on X. “That’s why I’m proud to have stood with members of the City Council and community advocates to sign the Bathhouse Repeal Ordinance and Pride in Policy package into law.”
These bathhouses and sex venues were originally closed in 1988 over concerns about hygiene and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS. Notably, Dr. Anthony Fauci conducted research during the 80s and determined that the outbreaks were being caused by rampant sexual activity among gay men in these bathhouses.
“It was so concentrated in the gay community that I really wanted to get a feel for what was going on there that would lead to this explosion of a sexually transmitted disease,” Fauci told NPR in a 2021 interview. “So I did. I went to the Castro District [of San Francisco]. I went down to Greenwich Village, and I went into the bathhouses to essentially see what was going on.”
“And the epidemiologist in me went, ‘Oh, my goodness, this is a perfect setup for an explosion of a sexually transmitted disease!’ And the same thing going to the gay bars and seeing what was going on. And it gave me a great insight into the explosiveness of the outbreak of a sexually transmitted disease.”
Happy Pride, Minneapolis! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
The rain this morning could not stop our neighbors from joining the best parade in the Twin Cities, and all weekend long we celebrated the joy and freedom to be exactly as you are. pic.twitter.com/hjJXmSVU7a
— Mayor Jacob Frey (@MayorFrey) June 28, 2026
Although the council passed the measure in a near-unanimous vote, councilwoman Elizabeth Shafer only said she voted to keep the ban because she didn’t think it was a pressing issue, not for any other objections.
“My constituent has spent decades in this fight,” Shafer said of a resident who previously worked for former state Sen. Allan Spear, the first openly gay senator in Minnesota. “He shared with me that many gay men in his own network either oppose the return of bathhouses or have real questions about whether this is the right path for a variety of reasons.”
Councilwoman Robin Wonsley, who voted to repeal the ban, said those in favor of the ban are guilty of “hypersexualizing our communities.” (RELATED: Trailblazing Trans Lawmaker Sentenced To Over 33 Years For Child Exploitation)
“I think it’s so important to not use this trope of hypersexualizing our communities,” Wonsley said. “That put a very repressive, ignorant, and fear-based policy in our legal code in the first place. If you can go and enjoy a drag show at Gay 90s, you should be able to stand up for the policies that make those spaces possible.”
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