Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Legislation to allow gay marriage in the state cleared its final hurdle Monday, May 13. With Gov. Mark Dayton expected to sign the bill as soon as tomorrow, Minnesota will become the 12th state in the country to allow same-sex couples to marry.
The Minnesota Senate approved H.F. 1054 Monday, May 13, clearing the way for Minnesota same-sex couples to marry in the state. The 37 to 30 vote, which was seen as the last hurdle for the legislation, makes Minnesota the 12th in the United States to recognize same-sex marriages in state law. Gov. Mark Dayton's office announced a signing ceremony set for 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 14. Democrats, known locally as the DFL party, hold a 39-28 advantage in the Minnesota Senate. Debate began shortly after noon Monday, with the Republican Party introducing a pair of amendments to the bill, both of which were voted down by state Democrats, who control the Senate. It quickly moved to speeches invoking personal feelings and relationships surrounding the…
Monday, May 13, 2013
Rev. Dr. Robyn Provis works for marriage equality, but it's her efforts in suicide prevention that have made her a local hero. Sponsored by Grape-Nuts.
About this sponsorship: In honor of the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Mount Everest, Patch and Grape-Nuts are teaming up to highlight those who inspire people around them to climb their own mountains. When the news of the passage of the marriage equity bill by the Minnesota House of Representatives reached Rev. Dr. Robyn Provis, the first person she wanted to share it with was her wife of nearly eight years, Kathy Luebbe. Provis and Luebbe were married in Toronto, Canada, and for years she says they have played a game on road trips of “Now we’re legally married. Whoops, now we’re not.” The long road to marriage equity mirrors the journey Rev. Dr. Robyn Provis has taken professional and personally to arrive …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
The Inver Grove Heights representative said yes to the same-sex marriage bill on Thursday afternoon.
The Minnesota House of Representatives passed legislation that would extend marriage to same-sex couples in a 75-59 vote Thursday afternoon. Inver Grove Heights Rep. Joe Atkins (D-52B) voted in favor of the measure. The bill will go to the Senate floor Monday. If passed, Gov. Mark Dayton will be the last step to sign the bill into law. While Atkins didn't speak during the debate, he posted this item on his campaign's Facebook page on Thursday's vote: In many places around the world, a disagreement over an emotional issue like this would boil into a battle settled with rocks or guns or bombs. Here, it is settled with speeches and political pressure and voting. I'm proud of the process and of the people here today. and this statement, posted…
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
It's 'marriage equality' vs. 'traditional marriage' as the U.S. Supreme Court considers challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California's Prop. 8 banning same-sex marriage.
Should the U.S. Supreme Court uphold or overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California's Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage? Take the poll above and leave your comment below! By Wednesday it was same-old, same-old as Supreme Court justices heard a second day of arguments about laws concerning same-sex marriage. Under DOMA, the federal government does not recognize marriages between people of the same gender. Prop. 8 made marriages between people of the same gender illegal again in California. How would you rule if you sat on the nation's high court? Take the poll above and leave your comment below. For more on Tuesday's Prop. 8 arguments, you can play the full audio above (or listen and see the unofficial transcript via …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
After Tuesday's approval of the same-sex marriage bill by House and Senate committees, we want to know if you think the issue should be addressed in schools.
On Tuesday, two committees in the Minnesota Legislature passed same-sex marriage bills, which moved them to the next step: approval or rejection by the full House and Senate. Discussions about gay marriage aren't confined to politics. Last year's proposed consitutional amendment and this year's bills are leading to conversations in homes and churches. But should those discussions move into public school classrooms? After same-sex marriage was legalized in New York, Chancellor Merryl Tisch, the head of the state Board of Regents, said the issue should be added to districts' curriculums. "We have to think of, how we do discuss gay marriage thoughtfully, respectfully and sensitively," Tisch said. "There has to be age-appropriateness." Same-…
Friday, November 9, 2012
Lawmakers are of mixed opinion on the prospects.
With a resounding victory Tuesday night—and the DFL now primed to assume control of the 2013 legislative session—a prominent state senator is suggesting incoming lawmakers could try to repeal a Minnesota law banning same-sex marriage. A prominent Southwest Minneapolis legislator, though, said it was too early to discuss legalization. Roseville state Sen. John Marty said he sees Tuesday night's election results as a changing of the guard. After just two years at the helm of the Minnesota Legislature, Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate on Tuesday night—a defeat at least some Democrats are attributing in part to the marriage and Voter ID amendments. Voters rejected both amendments by votes of 53 percent to 47 percent. …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
While proponents were saying the race was still too early to call, the Associated Press called the race shortly before 2 a.m. The vote means the state constitution will not define marriage as only between a man and a woman.
The Minnesota Marriage Amendment has been rejected. The campaign to amend the Minnesota state constitution to limit the definition of marriage to strictly between heterosexual couples was defeated Tuesday by more than 51 percent of a statewide vote. With 92 percent of state precincts reporting, the Associated Press reported shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday that Amendment 1—informally known as the Minnesota Marriage Amendment—had failed: "Vote No" won. Speaking to a cheering crowd of hundreds at St Paul's River Centre, Richard Carlbom, the campaign manager for Minnesotans United for All Families, told audiences that Minnesota was the first state in the nation to reject a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage at the ballot …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Issue comes before voters in November.
A new set of survey results released Wednesday morning suggests support for a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage rests on a knife's edge. The poll, by Public Policy Polling (PPP), said 48 percent of Minnesotans support the amendment and 47 percent oppose it, with less than sixty days to go until the November election. State law already bans same-sex marriage. "In January we found 48/44 support for the ban, while in June we found 49/43 opposition," said a statement from the pollsters, published on PPP's website. "It looks like a toss up." Opinions broke down by age group thus: Women (52/41), Democrats (78/16), and voters under 45 (50/45) all oppose the ban. Men (55/41), Republicans (80/17), independents (51/42), and …
Measure is on the November 2012 ballot.
Update 12:45 p.m. 9-12-12: A new poll from Public Policy Polling shows support for the amendment at 48 percent and opposition against it at 47 percent. With a new poll suggesting a same-sex marriage ban could pass this November, supporters of a proposed state constitutional amendment doing just that may have walked around with an extra spring in their step on Tuesday. Current state law already bans same-sex marriage. According to the KSTP/SurveyUSA Poll, support for the measure sits at about 50 percent, and opposition against the amendment at about 43 percent. The remaining eight percent or so are undecided, the station said. The station also broke down poll results by geography: The amendment is favored in all regions of the state, with …
Monday, August 27, 2012
On Monday, the justices voted 4-2 in favor of the Republican-controlled Legislature on the wording of the voter ID and same-sex marriage amendments.
On Nov. 6, the ballot titles and questions for the voter ID and same-sex marriage amendments will appear as the Republican-controlled Legislature wrote them, according to the Star Tribune. The Minnesota Supreme Court on Monday affirmed the wording legislators chose, instead of those submitted by Secretary of State Mark Ritchie. On the ballot, the title above the voter ID amendment will be, "Photo Identification Required for Voting." Ritchie changed it to "Changes to In-Person & Absentee Voting & Voter Registration; Provisional Ballots," but Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea and justices G. Barry Anderson, Christopher Dietzen and David Stras rejected his change. The title above the same-sex marriage amendment will say, "Recognition of …
Mike Hindin
9:37 pm on Saturday, May 18, 2013
Try anything with John Wane in it. I don't care about Hollywood past or present. more ›