Anti-gay marriage group to tour Minnesota

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a group that opposes rights for same-sex couples, is bringing its “Summer for Marriage Tour 2010: One Man One Woman” through three Minnesota cities in July. NOM is already targeting Minnesota with television ads criticizing four candidates for governor who support marriage equality — DFLers Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Mark Dayton and Matt Entenza, and Independence Party candidate Tom Horner. And Minnesota is the only state on the tour with three stops: Rochester, St. Paul and St. Cloud.

“For over a decade, the institution of marriage, the very bedrock on which civilized society rests, has been under attack by radical activists who want to redefine its very meaning,” the group says on its website. “The tour will criss-cross the east coast, mid-west and southern states to hold a series of 20 rallies to encourage supporters to stand up for marriage. Many of the states we are visiting are the key battlegrounds in this critical debate.”

Marriage equality advocates have announced a counter tour to coincide with NOM’s tour:

“As part of Freedom to Marry’s Summer for Marriage, we are working with our supporters, as well as local and state partners, to plan rallies and other events wherever NOM is planning to push discrimination and distort the truth about gay couples and their families,” said the Freedom to Marry Foundation in a press release last week. “In 17 states and the District of Columbia, we will share our stories and demonstrate how the denial of marriage harms same-sex couples and their families, while helping no one.”

The NOM tour will be in St. Paul on July 28, in St. Cloud on July 29, and in Rochester on July 30.