Minnesota Independent

Sen. Dibble on gay marriage vote: ‘The GOP made a grave, grave mistake’

By Andy Birkey | 05.12.11 | 2:03 pm

Reaction to the passage of a Republican anti–gay marriage amendment in the Minnesota Senate on Wednesday was swift. “They have made a grave, grave mistake, and I think they will see that soon,” Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, the only member of the LGBT community in the Senate. The bill’s author, Maple Grove Republican Warren Limmer, dodged questions by Dibble and reporters about whether he thinks same-sex marriage is immoral and whether the measure was really about morality. Though he didn’t answer, Limmer has made his opposition to homosexuality very clear in his 20 years in office.

Minnesota Senate votes to put constitutional amendment on gay marriage before voters

By Andy Birkey | 05.11.11 | 3:38 pm

A proposal to place a question on the 2012 ballot that would alter the Minnesota Constitution to ban same-sex marriage passed the Senate on Wednesday afternoon by a vote of 38 to 27. The measure is waiting its final committee hearing in the House before that chamber votes on it. Virtually all of the testimony on the Senate floor was in opposition to the bill, which led one legislator to question whether supporters were ashamed to speak in support of it.

Rep. John Kriesel, R-Cottage Grove. Source: JohnKriesel.org

GOP’s Kriesel, Catholic priest tussle over gay marriage amendment

By Andy Birkey | 05.11.11 | 1:03 pm

A feud between Rep. John Kriesel and Rev. John Echert of Holy Trinity/Saint Augustine Parish in South St. Paul erupted on Catholic blogs on Tuesday. Kriesel, a Republican who opposes a putting an anti-gay marriage amendment on the ballot in 2012, received a letter from Echert that said the parish was launching a campaign to ban gay marriage in the Minnesota Constitution. Kriesel’s office warned the parish about violating its tax status by lobbying.

Log Cabin Republicans laud Sen. Ortman’s vote against marriage amendment

By Andy Birkey | 05.06.11 | 1:08 pm

Sen. Julianne Ortman of Chanhassen earned praise for the Log Cabin Republicans on Friday after she was the lone Republican to vote to table a bill that adds a constitutional ban on gay marriage to the 2012 ballot. The motion to table was brought by Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook. Ortman had previously spoke in favor of rights for same-sex couples.

Marriage amendment headed to Senate floor

By Andy Birkey | 05.06.11 | 10:28 am

A bill that proposes a ban on gay marriage on the 2012 ballot passed the Senate Rules Committee on Friday morning and will now head to the Senate floor for a full vote. During brief testimony, DFLers on the committee raised concerns about rushing the passage of such a contentious measure this year and about its possible unintended consequences for same-sex couples.

Minnesota Capitol. Photo: Paul Weimer, Flickr

Anti-gay marriage amendment passes final House committee

By Andy Birkey | 05.05.11 | 8:57 am

A constitutional amendment that would bar gays and lesbians from marrying in Minnesota passed the House Ways and Means Committee Wednesday night after brief testimony. The bill now heads to the House Rules Committee and then a House floor vote. A companion bill in the Senate is awaiting a hearing on Friday in the Senate Rules Committee, which has the power to send that bill to the Senate floor. The process of getting the bill on the ballot could be complete as early as Monday.

Republican Rep. Kriesel will oppose anti–gay marriage amendment

By Andy Birkey | 05.03.11 | 7:00 am

Rep. John Kriesel, R-Cottage Grove, is the first Republican in the Minnesota Legislature to announce his opposition to a proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution that would ban same-sex marriage, according to the Star Tribune. The bill has cleared a committee each in the Minnesota House and Senate, and Kriesel said he’s working hard to convince his Republican colleagues that the amendment is a bad idea.

House committee passes anti–gay marriage amendment

By Andy Birkey | 05.02.11 | 3:40 pm

Along party lines, the House Civil Law Committee passed a bill Monday to put a constitutional amendment that would restrict marriage in Minnesota to one man and one woman before voters. In a hearing in which religious leaders far outnumbered legal testifiers, emotions ran high as the father of a gay soldier killed in Afghanistan appealed to veterans to oppose the amendment.

Senate committee passes anti–gay marriage amendment

By Andy Birkey | 04.29.11 | 3:56 pm

The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee passed a bill Friday afternoon that would put a ban on same-sex marriage in the Minnesota Constitution if voters approve it during the November 2012 elections. Religious leaders spoke in defense of the bill, while supporters of the LGBT community expressed opposition. It passed the committee along party lines with Republicans supporting the measure.

"Progress of the State" sculpture on the Minnesota Capitol dome. Photo: Michael Hicks, Flickr

Repeal of women’s pay equity pulled from omnibus bill

By Andy Birkey | 04.29.11 | 8:10 am

According to DFL Reps. Marion Greene of Minneapolis and Erin Murphy of St. Paul, Republicans have pulled a repeal of pay equity from the omnibus state government operations bill. The controversial provision, termed the Local Government Pay Equity Act, would have eliminated a mechanism that ensures equal pay for women working for local government units.