The 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.

The bill’s author, Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, said, “There’s a growing uncomfortableness with a small group of politicians in St. Paul deciding this issue and an uncomfortableness of the possibility of a small number of judges deciding this.”

He added, “This proposal is simply to give the voters an opportunity to define marriage as between one man and one woman and place that in our state constitution.”

Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, asked the senators what is so different about his relationship. He spoke of his partner, Richard, and their struggles together to get by in a tough economy.

Sen. Barb Goodwin, DFL-Columbia Heights, tried to amend the bill to also ban divorce in the interest of protecting marriage. That measure failed.

“We heard a lot of testimony that this is important because of the sanctity and the sacrament [marriage] is. It’s good because we want stable families for children. My amendment would make marriage a for-life event. For those that do decide to get married, get married for life,” she said. “If marriage is something so important that we need it in our state constitution, then we should recognize marriages for life.”

Sen. Linda Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis, expressed concern that legislators are not taking the constitution seriously. “I’m concerned when we use the constitution to write into it elements that would discriminate against other people in our society, and I do not believe that is the purpose of the constitution. It’s not why the founding fathers created the constitution.”

She added, “Take the constitution seriously. Vote no on this amendment.”

Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, spoke of her brother who is gay and how the amendment would hurt him. She also read a number of letters from constituents who oppose the amendment.

“I believe that God created us all whether we are gay or straight,” she said, and then she cited scripture to support her statement.

“Gay people exist, and some of them kill themselves because of the shame our society puts on them,” she added. “Cruelty is wrong and compassion is holy.”

Goodwin also added some of her faith to the discussion. “Think how differently Christianity would be if Jesus asked the crowd to vote on whether or not to stone Mary Magdalene,” she said. “If people want to worry about other peoples’ relationships then I think they need to find other things to do.”

Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, questioned the wisdom of asking the public to vote on other peoples’ marriages.

“My wife and I were married 30 years ago in November. We chose to marry each other. My dad, a local minister, married us,” he said. “Nobody had any vote in it except for us. Yeah, we voted 2 to 0, but nobody else had the right to vote on our marriage.”

Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, DFL-Minneapolis, said, “I very much hope that you go out and really try to ask same-sex couples the hardships they face. I had no idea 20 years ago,” she said, noting that she’s become close friends with a lesbian couple on her block. “And because I know their reality, I cannot come here and pretend that this is a problem for them.”

She pleaded with her colleagues, “We are creating a problem for thousands of couples. Members, please don’t do this.”

Sen. John Harrington, DFL-St. Paul, spoke about how he faced marriage discrimination when he met his wife who was of a different race. When they decided which state to move to, they had to eliminate a third of the country which, at that time, still had laws criminalizing interracial marriage.

“Why are we following in that line? I really do feel that this amendment follows int that line,” he said.

Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, talked about the negative economic impact the amendment would have as talented employees would seek employment in more tolerant states. Sen. Linda Higgins, DFL-Minneapolis remarked that discrimination should not be put to a popular vote, while Sen. Mary Jo McGuire, DFL-St. Paul, who had just won a special election, said that none of the voters she met while campaigning asked her about banning gay marriage.

And Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, asked why Republicans insisted on bringing the issue up at all.

“Gay marriage is still against the law in Minnesota,” he said. “Republicans care more about passing their divisive social agenda than creating jobs in Minnesota.”

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.

“Our freedom and democracy is at stake,” exhorted Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, in urging members to vote for the bill.

Maple Grove Sen. Warren Limmer brought up a familiar refrain among Republicans: “You need to use a photo ID to make a bank transaction, to rent a movie, to buy a drink at a bar, and to get on an airplane. But heaven forbid we ask someone to show an ID to vote and maintain integrity in our election system. If any illegitimate voter votes, it disenfranchises a legitimate voter, and this is a cure for that.”

Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, said there’s a lot of misinformation floating around and pointed to the controversy surrounding President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.

“This bill won’t stop the .0001 percent of voters who were felons in the last election. It doesn’t indicate felon status on a driver’s license,” he said. “It doesn’t stop non-citizens from voting. It doesn’t have your citizenship status on an ID.”

He criticized Republicans’ argument that only 144,000 Minnesotans don’t have photo identification.

“Our gubernatorial race was decided by 9,000 votes; 144,000 is insignificant?,” he said. “This is as bizarre as asking the President of the United States to produce a birth certificate after two years in office. This is bizarre.”

Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, said, “We just went through very intensive voter recounts in this state in 2008 and 2010. The whole country was watching. There were no cases of voter impersonation in those elections,” he said. “This bill is about putting roadblocks up to the ballot box.”

Sen. Linda Higgins, DFL-Minneapolis, said, “This voter ID bill is a bad bill. It’s disenfranchisement.”

She said the provision would keep low-income people, individuals living in battered women’s shelters and elderly citizens from voting.

“We should be proud of the system we have now,” she said. “If we pass a bill that prevents one person from voting we should be ashamed of ourselves.”

With that, the Senate voted along party lines to pass the bill. A companion bill has passed through three committees in the House and will have another committee hearing this week.

Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

A bill to allow incurably ill patients to legally purchase marijuana is up for consideration in the Minnesota Senate. The Medical Use of Marijuana bill (SF 97) is nearly identical to a bill that passed the Senate last year and almost passed the House. It enjoys partisan support this year, although last year Gov. Tim Pawlenty indicated he would veto such a bill so long as law enforcement opposed it.

The Medical Use of Marijuana bill would make it legal for patients to procure up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana from a state-regulated nonprofit, only with a physician’s approval and only to those patients who have registered with the state as medical marijuana users. The bill lays down harsh penalties for patients and nonprofits that dispense marijuana to individuals that aren’t qualified by state registration.

Two Republicans are co-authors on this year’s bill. Sens. Geoff Michel of Edina and Debbie Johnson of Ham Lake have signed on to support the bill, as have Sens. Steve Murphy of Red Wing, Linda Higgins of Minneapolis and John Marty of Roseville. A similar bill is expected to be introduced in the House this month and will likely have similar bipartisan support.

Fourteen states allow the medical use of marijuana, from libertarian Alaska and Montana to liberal Vermont and California. If Minnesota passes legislation this year, it would become the second state in the Midwest to do so. Michigan passed a medical marijuana law in 2008.

Public polling in Minnesota shows that legalizing medical marijuana is a popular public policy goal. Last year, a KSTP/SurveyUSA poll showed support from 64 percent of Minnesotans, including 58 percent of Republicans. Minnesotans have favored the legalization of marijuana by more than 60 percent in most public opinion polls over the last 10 years.

Photo: Scott Beale, Laughing Squid

Freshmen Reps. Bobby Joe Champion (pictured) and Jeff Hayden (the only two African-Americans in the Legislature) were on hand, along with veteran state Sen. Linda Higgins. “The reality is that people are really, really frightened,” Hayden said at the start of the discussion.

The details of possible economic upheaval, however, were left to Bill Marx, chief fiscal analyst for the Minnesota House of Representatives. Before he took to the microphone, audience members were given a friendly warning: “Now matter what he says, you can’t hit Mr. Marx.”

There were no physical threats issued against the economist as he explained the ugly details of the current budget situation, but plenty of questions and commentary. While the state’s economic plight was ostensibly the topic of the evening, most of the dialogue gravitated to the seemingly intractable troubles of the North Side. How can the area get its fair share of lottery revenues? What transportation improvements will the North Side see from the increase in the gas tax? How can the neighborhood prepare to reap the benefits from the looming federal stimulus package?

Marx was frequently at a loss to answer these pointed questions. The state bureaucrat could detail exactly how much of Minnesota’s budget is derived from “health impact fees,” but he was at a loss to explain how lottery revenues might improve the lives of poor folks in North Minneapolis.

The local politicians did their best to step in and placate the audience. “Nobody likes the journey that we’re on,” said Champion. “Nobody like the options on the table.”

One economic detail from Marx’s presentation clearly resonated with audience members: the minuscule portion (3.4 percent or $1.9 million) of the state’s budget derived from corporate income taxes. “It’s unconscionable that corporate taxes account for less than 5 percent of our budget,” noted one person, sparking a murmur of assent in the audience.

Marx finally made it through his power-point presentation after roughly two hours. His last point: the projected $4.8 billion deficit for the 2009-10 biennium is only expected to get worse when the latest budget forecast is released next month.

Despite the gloomy economic picture, Higgins implored residents to show up at the Capitol and make sure the area gets its fair share of what tax revenues are available.

“North Minneapolis can show up,” she said. “We will show up. We must show up.”

Other guests include state Rep. Joe Mullery, state Sen. Linda Higgins, and ACORN finance director Jordan Ash, who was a part of Attorney General Lori Swanson’s Task Force Against Predatory Lending.

Ellison will be discussing federal legislation being proposed to oppose predatory lending as well as the growing rate of home foreclosures in the 5th District.

According to Sunday’s Star Tribune, 1.2 million homes were foreclosed on in 2006, a 42 percent increase over 2005, and 100,000 more homes than were sold in the same year.

What: Town Hall Forum on predatory lending

When: 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 26

Where: Jenny Lind Elementary School, 5025 Bryant Ave. N., Minneapolis