Republicans in the Minnesota House introduced three bills on Thursday that would put a ban on same-sex marriage into the Minnesota Constitution. The bill is a companion to the bills offered in the Minnesota Senate on Tuesday. Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud, liked the idea so much, he’s offered two additional identical bills of his own.
The Minnesota Senate passed a sweeping voter identification bill Thursday that would require voters to present a government-issued photo ID card in order to vote in the state. Republicans said the measure is intended to prevent voter fraud, which they say has disenfranchised legitimate voters, while Democrats countered that it would be a travesty to democracy if even one voter was disenfranchised because they didn’t have an ID.
Rep. Ryan Winkler offered an amendment in the Government Operations and Elections Commmittee on Wednesday that would have allowed local governments to offer domestic partner benefits to same-sex couples, but Republican members opposed the measure. A 1995 court case struck down the ability of local governments to offer domestic partner benefits, and instead communities across the state have enacted domestic partner registries that currently cover 1 million Minnesota residents.
Last week, Republican Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer of Big Lake said that if she couldn’t get her bill to require photo identification at the voting booth passed into law, she would seek a constitutional amendment. She made good on that promise Wednesday when she and 33 other Republicans introduced a measure that if passed would put the issue on the ballot in 2012.
Republicans in the Minnesota Senate introduced three bills on Tuesday that aim to put a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage before voters in 2012. Minnesota law already outlaws same-sex marriage. State Democrats say the bill is a distraction from the economic crisis — and a state budget that the GOP has yet to pass.
Republicans in the Minnesota House introduced a bill on Tuesday that would ban the state from implementing health insurance exchanges as part of the Affordable Care Act. The new bill is one of several that would ban some or all aspects of federal health insurance reform in the state. It’s also at odds with a GOP bill that would create those health exchanges.
Gov. Mark Dayton sent a letter Monday to Rep. Sarah Anderson, R-Plymouth, head of the House redistricting committee, wondering why the bill outlining the guiding principles for the process of redrawing political district lines hasn’t hit his desk yet. Dayton noted that the current bills being offered by the GOP are lacking in terms of ensuring minority representation and other principles that have traditionally been a part of the process. In 2001, he reminded, those bills had already been passed by May 1.
Minnesota legislators introduced a bill on Monday that would ban state family planning money from going to any organization that offers abortion services, advocates for the right to choose an abortion, counsels pregnant women that abortion is an option or is affiliated with any organization that engages in those activities. In fact, under the bill, family planning dollars cannot be used to refer women to abortion services even if they are explicitly seeking those services. The bill introduced on Monday is the twelfth anti-abortion rights bill introduced so far this session.
Sen. Al Franken is the sponsor of legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate late last week that would give binational same-sex couples the same rights as married couples for immigration purposes. The Uniting American Families Act is authored by Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont and is sponsored by 18 other Democrats.
Democratic members of Congress balked at being called socialists during a debate on Friday over the Republicans’ proposed budget and the Progressive Caucus’ proposed budget. Republican Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama accused the progressives in Congress of being socialists who are putting America “at risk.” Rep. Keith Ellison asked that Brooks retract the word “socialist” from his remarks.
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