Marriage equality bill still alive in Legislature

its time for us to not let Religious Right Extreme occult like leaders put their beliefs into law.

Its time to think of the families, of the people who are committed to each other and to their family for a family is a family is a family.

Perhaps the DFL people obstructing this in committee and wasting our time should NOT be reelected. I hope there are hard questions asked of these people at their endorsement conventions. If not, we will continue to lag behind more progressive states…like Iowa.

-D

Del Jenkins

This is a good article on the current status of the equality bill but would have been even better with more perspective from the creator of the bill. That would be Senator John Marty, briefly mentioned in the article. Senator Marty is by far marriage equality’s best friend in the legislature; the legislator willing to go to bat for what’s right. This is not to detract from the great work of Rep. Kahn or our other friends but to remind readers who started this advance. Thanks!
Joel Clemmer

I hope the LGBT community takes their dollars to Iowa or NJ. Just like our money goes to Wisconsin on Sunday for alcohol, fireworks and automobile dealerships. Soon we’ll broke like California, and the religious nuts can have Minnesota all to themselves.

The Marriage and Family Protection Act was first introduced at the end of the 2008 session, then re-introduced in 2009. Although I lobbied hard for hearings in 2009, it was disappointing to witness the DFL, with 2 to 1 majorities in both houses of the legislature, in an off-election year, fail to produce even one hearing on this issue of our basic rights. Marriage Equality Minnesota is the principal backer of this bill, and there has never been any question that Marriage Equality Minnesota wants this bill passed by the legislature, immediately, with or without the signature of the governor. Passage by the legislature, even with a veto would still be a stunning advance toward marriage equality in Minnesota. But we need to start with hearings. Marriage Equality Minnesota has proposed hearings in both houses for February 12, National Freedom To Marry Day. I have proposed planning meetings but have been met with resistance from the House. On the Senate side, the bill’s author, Senator John Marty believes, as I do, that the bill would pass in committee and is eager to get a hearing scheduled. The votes are also there for passage on the floor, if the DFL leadership would just lead on this issue.

Maybe Minnesota can become a more progressive state than Iowa and remove the numerical restrictions to marriage along with the gender restrictions to whom can marry.

Like Lyn says above, “Its time to think of the families, of the people who are committed to each other and to their family for a family is a family is a family.”

A normative marriage of a man and a woman involves the consummation of the marriage and the couple can procreate. A same sex couple – if you weren’t asleep during that part of biology – will not be able to consummate a marriage and cannot procreate.

Same sex “marriage” will never be equal to opposite sex marriage.

“Nachman,” above, infers that procreation is the only reason for marriage. This will of course come as a surprise to any elderly, infertile, or childless-by-choice people who wish to marry.

Actually, maybe that’s what we need — an attempt to turn just such wingnuttery into law. This would certainly gain the attention of the above-mentioned groups.

(And by the way, same-sex couples “consummate” just fine, and lesbian couples CAN procreate in the same way many heterosexuals do.)

It is time for equality. There was(is) resistance to equality for differences in religion, race, gender and physical ability. It is time to overcome the same ignorance that denied those equalities in order to declare equality in sexual orientation as well.

[...] success and are bolstered by incredible efforts on the part of OutFront and certain members of the MN Legislature, which have been working for marriage equality through the legislative [...]