Same-sex couples who are suing the state of Minnesota for the right to marry are urging Gov. Mark Dayton, Attorney General Lori Swanson and Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to follow the Obama administration’s lead. Late last month, President Barack Obama ordered the Department of Justice to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a 1996 measure signed into law by President Clinton that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriage. In a letter sent to Dayton last week, the couples urged the Democratic governor to halt Minnesota’s defense of its DOMA.

Three same-sex couples filed suit in Minnesota District Court in 2010 to overturn Hennepin County’s refusal to issue them marriage licenses. The suit names both Swanson and Freeman.

Doug Benson, executive director of Marry Me Minnesota and one of the plaintiffs in the case, said his group hopes Obama’s decision will impact Minnesota’s laws barring same-sex marriage.

“If the federal DOMA is unconstitutional, which is what the President and Attorney General are saying, then by default, the state DOMAs which mirror the provisions of the federal law, are unconstitutional as well,” Benson told the Minnesota Independent. “The judge in our case has been informed of the very significant step by the president and [Department of Justice].”

On Feb. 23, the Obama administration said its review of DOMA found it to be unconstitutional and that the federal government would no longer defend a law it believes to be unconstitutional.

Benson added, “We hope it positively impacts our case and we also hope Attorney General Swanson will follow the federal lead.”

In its letter, provided exclusively to the Minnesota Independent, Benson’s group urged Dayton’s administration to halt Minnesota’s legal defense of DOMA and to recognize marriages of residents who have same-sex marriage certificates obtained legally in places like Canada and Iowa.

“We call on you to direct all state agencies and local governments to immediately stop the enforcement of the provisions of Minnesota’s Defense of Marriage Act and recognize the out-of-state marriages of Minnesota same-sex couples as legal and valid, to be treated in all state business in the same manner as any legally constituted, different-sex marriage,” the letter dated Mar. 2 reads.

Benson said he hasn’t yet heard from the governor’s office on the matter except that Dayton had directed the state’s legal counsel to look into it.

OutFront Minnesota, the state’s largest LGBT advocacy group, has in the past said the lawsuit is not their preferred strategy for reaching marriage equality for same-sex couples. But in the wake of Obama’s decision said that Freeman and Swanson should think carefully about it.

“OutFront Minnesota hopes that this new development will be examined carefully by the Hennepin County Attorney’s and Minnesota Attorney General’s offices as each determines its future approach to the marriage equality litigation currently pending in Hennepin County,” the group said in a statement.

Here’s the full letter sent to Dayton last week:

March 2, 2011
Governor Mark Dayton
130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155

Dear Governor Dayton,

This letter calls your attention to a February 23, 2011 announcement from the Department of Justice in which U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder describes a change in the federal government’s policy with regard to the fifteen year old Defense Of Marriage Act. DOMA prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage in the application of nearly 1400 federal laws and regulations. Further, it purports to exempt the states from complying with the Comity Clause of the constitution, allowing the states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries.

This law has received several challenges in federal court as to its constitutionality and has been unsuccessfully defended by the Department of Justice. Attorney General Holder has now announced that, at the direction of the President of the United States, the policy of the Department of Justice will be to no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense Of Marriage Act. The President and Attorney General have determined that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation merits heightened scrutiny, not mere rational basis analysis. They have further concluded that Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as only between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional.

The federal government has rejected DOMA as unconstitutional. By analogy and federal constitutional sovereignty, state laws that mirror its provisions are unconstitutional, as well.

Because this change in policy amounts to a federal recognition of the legality same-sex marriages, we call on you to follow the President’s lead and immediately direct Attorney General Swanson to cease her defense of Minnesota’s own Defense of Marriage Act and statutes that discriminate against same-sex couples, which are currently under challenge in District Court in the case of Benson vs Alverson. Further we call on you to direct all state agencies and local governments to immediately stop the enforcement of the provisions of Minnesota’s Defense of Marriage Act and recognize the out-of-state marriages of Minnesota same-sex couples as legal and valid, to be treated in all state business in the same manner as any legally constituted, different-sex marriage.

We ask for your expedient action in this matter.

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Douglas Benson
Executive Director
Marry Me Minnesota

State Auditor Rebecca Otto and Attorney General Lori Swanson were re-elected on Tuesday night. The Associated Press called the race for Swanson early in the night, but didn’t project an Otto win until well into Wednesday morning. Swanson took an early lead and stayed above 50 percent throughout the night, while Otto only bested her opponent by a handful of points.

Otto faced a challenge from former Republican State Auditor Pat Anderson, who held the position from 2003 to 2007.

The fact that they have both held the office has become a campaign issue.

Otto said that during Anderson’s term, the office made errors in its accounting, and she claimed that Anderson made errors on her campaign finance reports.

Anderson’s supporters, on the other hand, issued a deluge of government data requests which flooded the auditor’s office this summer.

Lori Swanson, the incumbent DFL Attorney General, faced a challenge by Republican Chris Barden, a psychologist and lawyer.

The race drew little attention, but both traded barbs about each other’s ethics late in the campaign. Swanson said that Barden’s crusade against “repressed memory syndrome” would hamper his ability to handle mental health cases as attorney general.

Barden said that Swanson’s office has been plagued by scandal since she took office.

VAN SUSTEREN: But it doesn’t sort of escape me that the people who have filed are all Republicans, with the sole exception of the attorney general in Louisiana is a Democrat. I think he’s probably the only — is he the only Democrat who has joined this?

PAWLENTY: As far as I know. You know, of course, there’s probably some political overtones to it, but I think it’s also, frankly, Greta, philosophical. We have a group of people like me who view the federal government should have a limited role. There’s a bunch of people who have a different view. And that’s what the courts are for, to hash out these differences. So let’s get it on.

Van Susteren also asked how long it would take for Minnesota to join the lawsuit:

PAWLENTY: Fairly soon. You know, this lawsuit’s going to take a while, so we don’t have to do it immediately. But we’ll be making some decisions and taking some actions probably within the next week or two, at least make the initial steps in that regard.

But you know, she — she, unfortunately, decided not to sue on behalf of the state of Minnesota. In fact, she’s going to side with President Obama in this. I’m going to take the other side. That’s the way the chips fall. But at least she gave me the authority, and I needed that under Minnesota law to initiate my own action or to file an amicus brief.

Here‘s the full exchange:

Swanson’s letter (pdf) to Pawlenty said:

Based upon my legal analysis and review of the Constitution and applicable legal authority, I have determined that a lawsuit by the state of Minnesota against the United States of America is not warranted and, accordingly, I will not be filing such a lawsuit. I have further determined to file an amicus brief in support of the United States to set forth what I believe to be a correct reading of the Constitution. I have made these decisions in fulfillment of the oath I took at Attorney General to uphold the Constitutions of the United States of America and the State of Minnesota.

I leave it to your discretion as to filing an amicus brief with the federal court in your individual capacity as Governor to articulate your views about the legislation.

Swanson said that Pawlenty was free to lend his support to any lawsuit against the federal government in his capacity as governor.

Pawlenty’s request joins Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Nebraska, Texas, Pennsylvania, Washington, Utah, North Dakota, and South Dakota in challenging the health reform bill.

“It appears that Congress may be overstepping its bounds by forcing individuals or businesses to buy insurance,” Pawlenty wrote. “I respectfully request that you review the legal issues being raised by these unprecedented federal mandate and join other attorneys general to protect the constitutional rights of our citizens.”

But Swanson’s office said it’s in no hurry to explore legal action, since the bill isn’t technically law yet.

“The legislation in question still has to be signed by the President and reconciliation has yet to be passed by the Senate,” said Swanson spokesman Ben Wogsland. “The individual mandate does not go into effect until 2014. Our Office has not yet read and analyzed the 2,400 page bill that passed the House yesterday. The Attorney General’s Office operates in the legal arena and we are not going to make any legal comments until we have had the opportunity to review the 2,400 page bill.”

Pawlenty’s cites one bit of documentati0n for his push for legal action: A 1994 Congressional Budget Office report that states: “A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action. The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States.”

Pawlenty says the CBO was making a legal opinion about health care mandates, but it was not. The report, titled, “The Budgetary Treatment of an Individual Mandate to Buy Health Insurance,” was simply exploring the effects a mandate would have on the federal budget. CBO is not charged with evaluating laws based on constitutional principles. That report can be read here: (PDF)

The full text of Pawlenty’s letter:

As you may be aware, attorneys general in at least 12 states have indicated they plan to file lawsuits to block implementation of the federal health care reform legislation on constitutional grounds.

The legislation passed by congress requires individuals to purchase health insurance or pay a fine. Such a sweeping federal mandate has never before been enacted. In fact, when such a mandate was previously considered, a 1994 report from the Congressional Budget Office said, “A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action. The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States.”

It appears that congress may be overstepping it’s bounds by forcing individuals or businesses to buy insurance. I respectfully request that you review the legal issues being raised by these unprecedented federal mandate and join other attorneys general to protect the constitutional rights of our citizens. These efforts will help maintain a proper balance in the relationship between states and the federal government.

While I support improving and reforming our health care system, this bill is overly focused on expanding access and will do little to improve overall health care quality or contain costs. Congress would have been wiser to use Minnesota’s market-driven, patient-centered, and quality-focused reforms as a model.

Source: Wikipedia

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has added Minnesota’s support to a lawsuit by the state of Michigan against the state of Illinois to force the closure of a canal connecting the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan. Unless the canal is closed, Asian carp will make their way into the Great Lakes and eventually Minnesota inland lakes, rivers and stream. The lawsuit will be heard by the U.S. States Supreme Court on Thursday.

“If they invade the Great Lakes, they will have access to the rivers and tributaries that feed into the Great Lakes, thereby threatening inland waters,” Swanson said in a brief to the high court. “This would be extremely destructive to Minnesota’s economy and way of life, where inland fishing is an important recreational and economic pursuit. Indeed, Minnesota is known as ‘The Land of 10,000 Lakes,’ and the recreational fishing in Minnesota alone is a $2.725 billion per year industry.”

The carp are invasive and reproduce rapidly, crowding out native fish. They also startle easily and have injured boaters when they jump out of the water.

Illinois constructed an electric barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to keep the fish out of Lake Michigan, but in November researchers found evidence of the fish above the barrier. That leaves only one lock and dam between the carp and the lake. Two weeks ago, Michigan filed suit to close that lock.

But business interests are fighting back. The Illinois Chamber of Commerce said that the closure of the canal will mean $500 million in expenses as grains, coal and petroleum have to be shipped on highways instead of the cheaper barges.

“There’s no monetary comparison to an ecosystem,” Swanson told the Christian Science Monitor. “They’re an American treasure. Once you contaminate them with Asian carp, that treasure is jeopardized and can’t be changed. You can’t pay Michigan or Ohio or Minnesota enough money to ruin the Great Lakes.”

Here’s a video of the carp jumping out of the water and onto boaters:

The scale of Xcel’s reversal in Colorado is substantially less than in Minnesota, where action by Attorney General Lori Swanson resulted in the removal of almost $4 million in spending from a rate-increase request here. Colorado ratepayers will avoid about $120,000 in charges for European trips, swanky mountain retreats and seats at professional sports events.

That limits Xcel requests in both states to recovering “significant new investments in our generation, transmission and distribution systems,” according to Vice President Scott Wilensky.

If Minnesota is any model, regulators in Colorado may not smile on Xcel’s request for more than $180 in increases. The $91 million the company won in Minnesota was less than 60 percent of what it wanted here.

[Via Bring Me the News]

Image: Kirsten Hartsoch

So much for states’ rights: Iowa-based American Future Fund wants the Federal Elections Commission to rule against Minnesota’s long-standing ban on robocalls in order to include Minnesota in its national robocall campaigns, the Star Tribune reports. The group, which bills itself as a “conservative and free market” operation, filed a complaint with the FEC arguing that Minnesota’s anti-robocall law did not apply to national campaigns.

AFF, which has close ties to the Swift Boat Veteran for Truth, got its start in 2008 doing advertising for former Sen. Norm Coleman’s reelection campaign and has gone after DFL Rep. Collin Peterson on health care reform.

If AFF succeeds in convincing the FEC that federal law trumps Minnesota’s, the group’s automated phone messages would be the first legal political ones in Minnesota since 1987.

But Attorney General Lori Swanson says her office will fight to keep robocalls illegal. “We do not believe Minnesota … is preempted by federal campaign finance law and expect to be submitting a letter to the FEC on Monday expressing our position,” attorney general spokesman Ben Wogsland told the Star Tribune.

Elsewhere in Minnesota headlines this morning …

ST. CLOUD: Town Hall meeting Wednesday. Mayor Dave Kleis calls the first town hall meeting for an actual town in an actual hall in recent memory. [St. Cloud Times]

STATEWIDE: A Pawlenty tax hike. Ending tax-reciprocity for Minnesota and Wisconsin residents who work in the other state also ends the governor’s no-new-tax pledge for thousands of his constituents. [The Plum Line]

ST. PAUL: No help at all. Attorney General Lori Swanson will lay out her case today against three firms that added to customers’ debt instead of helping them get out of it. [Associated Press]

IRON RANGE: Newspapers start charging for Web content. Papers in Hibbing, Virginia and Grand Rapids will mine their online readers’ wallets for valuable minerals, beginning Wednesday. [Duluth News Tribune]

HIBBING: “The weather is screwing the trees up.” Fall color is all over the map this year. [Hibbing Daily Tribune]

VIRGINIA: Bulging bricks doom 99-year-old landmark. The “historically beautiful” Troy Building won’t see 100 if a rehab grant comes through. [Mesabi Daily News]

GRAND RAPIDS: Cabin owners fight federal fees in court. Plaintiffs hope revolt spreads like wildfire from Chippewa National Forest to other national forests. [Grand Rapids Herald Review]

Photo: MN North Star

If Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s office still uses those “While You Were Out” notes, his Monday-morning stack would make interesting reading. During his weekend trip to Iraq, Pawlenty was called a GOP “star” like Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and his name came up in speculation about which unnamed governor was reportedly also serviced by one of former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer’s sex providers.

A hooker identified only as “Annie” told the New York Daily News that besides Spitzer (and Bernie Madoff) she counted another, unnamed governor among her customers. That led Gawker to speculate that it could be Pawlenty.

City Pages insists one detail — a “prominent” wife — nixes T-Paw from the list of possible candidates. But hey, Mary Pawlenty used to be a judge (before a brief stint at an arbitration outfit that Attorney General Lori Swanson just forced out of the arbitration business). Gov. Pawlenty also frequently deems his wife “hot,” although he once said he’d have it made “if I could only get her to have sex with me.” 

Photo: US Army

More flattering was the pronouncement by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, himself a 2012 presidential prospect, that the Republican Party’s future lies with “stars” like Pawlenty and Jindal (not to mention Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who Barbour called “a bona fide energy expert”).

Pawlenty and Jindal haven’t been mentioned in the same breath as often since Jindal’s lackluster GOP response to President Obama’s State of the Union address. But Jindal is fixing to make his star rise again this week by blitzing op-ed pages and the cable-news talk show circuit.

Barbour made the comment at the annual meeting of the National Governors Association, which Pawlenty used to chair. This year, Pawlenty skipped the guvconfab (as well as his Friday radio show) for a trip to Iraq with three other governors.

It was planned as a morale-booster for the troops but turned solemn due to the deaths of three Minnesota National Guard military policemen – Spc. Daniel Paul Drevnick, 22, of Woodbury, Spc. David Wertish, 20, of Olivia, and Spc. Carlos E. Wilcox, 27, of Cottage Grove — just days before.

According to the Red Bull Report:

“Normally, at these town hall meetings, we talk about a lot of stuff,” said Pawlenty, “from the GI Bill to the Minnesota Vikings. But I want to limit my comments today to letting you know that I’m just so very sorry.”

When the time came for the MPs to ask questions of the governor, the room was silent for a moment. One Soldier stood up, who would ask the one and only question from the entire company. The Soldier was Staff Sgt. Blake Hayden from Woodbury, Minn., squad leader for the Military Police Company’s Quick Reaction Force and the direct supervisor of Drevnick, Wertish and Wilcox.

“Sir, are you going to be able to be at the funerals?”

The governor did not mince words with his response.

“Yes.”

Pawlenty has almost promised to travel to Puerto Rico next month as a special guest at a fundraiser for the Republican Governors Association. That’s an organization his fan Barbour now heads, after South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford resigned the post following his own sex scandal.