Does Minneapolis Have The Will To Bring Gay Bathhouses Back To The City?

About 50 people gathered at Lush bar Monday night to hear the case for reexamining Minneapolis’ ban on bathhouses, the predominant hookup scene for gay men prior to the 1980s AIDS epidemic. OutFront Minnesota provided a legal analysis, the Red Door Clinic a health perspective.

Audience members made it clear that congregate sex is thriving in Minneapolis and St. Paul as innovative medications like PrEP, a once-a-day pill that virtually eliminates the risk of transmitting HIV, are freeing people to live full sexual lives without fear of contagion. Now they’re hoping for a centralized, sanitary, controlled place for everyone to go, where shame-free testing is offered on a regular basis.