Several groups working to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage are gearing up their efforts. Gov. Mark Dayton will speak at the first fundraising event for Minnesotans United for All Families, a coalition of groups that oppose amending the Minnesota Constitution to ban gay marriage. An official kickoff is planned next week. Conservative groups have also planned events opposing the amendment, one of which will coincide with this weekend’s RightOnline conference.

Dayton is the featured guest at an event Monday night at Thom Pham’s Wondrous Azian Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis. The event comes one week before the official kickoff of Minnesotans United for All Families next Monday at the Loring Theatre. At that event, Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, will speak and artists including Stacia Rice, Bradley Greenwald, Belladiva, George Maurer, Anne Michaels and the Flying Foot Forum will perform.

A new group, Republicans Against the Minnesota Marriage Amendment (RAMMA), is hosting an event on Friday with conservative columnist SE Cupp and Rep. John Krisel, R-Cottage Grove. The pair will speak on “why they believe Republican and conservative values are consistent with GLBT liberty.” It coincides with the RightOnline conference, a confab for rightwing bloggers.

RAMMA’s mission statement states:

We are Republicans. We believe in individual liberty, limited government, free-market economics, fiscal responsibility, a strong national defense, and enduring moral values taught in families and churches. We differ among ourselves on whether the state of Minnesota should recognize same-sex marriages at this time. But whatever our individual views on same-sex marriage, we oppose the state constitutional amendment limiting marriage to the union of one man and one woman.

On Wednesday morning, Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a proposed amendment that would ban same-sex marriage in the Minnesota Constitution. The veto is only symbolic — the Minnesota governor has no authority over constitutional amendments. In his veto message Dayton called the amendment “divisive and destructive” and urged Minnesotans to vote against it in 2012. Dayton told reporters at a press conference that it was a bit of an anomaly for him to be presented with the amendment bill, but it also gave him an opportunity to comment on it.

“Without question, I am vetoing it; and I urge Minnesotans to reject this divisive, mean-spirited, un-Minnesotan and un-American amendment,” he wrote. “Minnesota is better than this. Minnesotans are better than this. I urge Minnesotans to reject this amendment.”

At a press conference for the veto, Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner-Solon, said, “I add my voice in urging Minnesotans to reject the marriage amendment when it comes before them in 2012.” She called the amendment a “travesty.”

Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, said, “[The veto] has no practical effect but has a tremendously positive effect across the state of Minnesota. It shows that he stand with every citizens and every family.”

“I know that we are going to beat this amendment,” he added.

Rep. Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, “I want to thank Gov. Dayton and Lt. Gov. Prettner-Solon for really important leadership. It was heartbreaking to have the bill pass,” said Clark adding her belief that love will win over discrimination. “We are going to love this thing to death.”

She added that it’s going to be a bruising battle. “The other side had already put out documents about igniting a culture war.”

Dayton added, “I’m optimistic that the overwhelming majority of Minnesota will reject this and still be a leader on social progress in this country.”

AmendmentVetoLetter –

Sen. Scott Dibble told Minnesota Public Radio that 100,000 emails sent to legislators by gay marriage supporters were clogging the servers and that the Senate IT department was set to delete them Monday morning. The emails, sent through the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBT rights group, chided Republicans and a handful of DFLers who voted Saturday night to put a constitutional ban on gay marriage on the ballot in 2012. Secretary of the Senate Cal Ludeman said the emails were being help in a spam filter and that his office was workign to get them back into the system.

“Hundreds of thousands of emails have come in the aftermath, so many so that the Republican caucus is deleting them before their members even get to see them,” Dibble told MPR.

Sen. Warren Limmer, the chief author of the anti-gay marriage amendment, said, “Not true. Not true. We aren’t wiping off comments of our constituents. That’s just simply not true.”

Sen. Dibble answered back, “That absolutely is true, and that’s exactly what the secretary of the Senate has told us.”

Secretary of the Senate Cal Ludeman tells the Minnesota Independent that the sheer volume of email coming into the system had caused it to crash on Sunday. By early Monday morning 230,000 emails had flooded in, he said, adding that he ordered the IT department to send a large number to a spam filter.

He said that those emails coming in would not be deleted and that they were working to “filter them back in.”

He wasn’t aware which emails were coming in or which ones needed to be sent to a spam filter.

“We are managing the traffic and they’ll be flowed back into the system,” he said.

Already the flood of emails has rankled some legislators. Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good Thunder, responded to the emails over the weekend in a manner some thought rude.

Here’s the audio of the exchange between Dibble and Limmer:

A prayer at Friday’s session of the Minnesota House given by anti-gay preacher Bradlee Dean erupted a firestorm of criticism among DFL legislators and some in the GOP. Dean, whose fiery brand of anti-LGBT preaching riled opponents of GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer last fall, led the House in prayer, asserting that President Obama was not a Christian. Republican leadership, sensing controversy, asked the official House chaplain to conduct an unusual second prayer. Minnesota’s LGBT legislators said Dean’s anti-gay preaching “reveals the underlying hateful nature of the anti-gay constitutional amendment movement.”

In his prayer, Dean said, “I know this is a non-denominational prayer in this Chamber and it’s not about the Baptists and it’s not about the Catholics alone or the Lutherans or the Wesleyans. Or the Presbyterians the evangelicals or any other denomination but rather the head of the denomination and his name is Jesus. As every President up until 2008 has acknowledged. And we pray it. In Jesus’ name.”

According to Tom Scheck of Minnesota Public Radio, Dean was invited to give the prayer at the request of Rep. Ernie Leidiger, R-Mayer.

Rep. Terry Morrow, DFL-St. Peter, gave an impassioned speech on the House floor denouncing the prayer.

The controversial prayer did not mention LGBT Minnesotans, gay marriage or the pending amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, but DFLers and progressives seized on Dean’s past statements about the LGBT community.

Rep. Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, one of the longest-serving LGBT elected officials in the country, and Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, that chamber’s only LGBT member, released a statement denouncing the decision to allow Dean to lead the prayer.

“In my 30 years in the House, I have never seen such a hateful person be allowed to deliver the opening prayer,” Clark said. “Bradlee Dean has a documented record of hate speech, and has suggested that extremists who call for the execution of American gays are morally justified. The decision by GOP leadership to allow his intolerance, fear and outright bigotry into the ‘people’s house’ is reprehensible. Minnesotans are a peaceful, loving and caring people. It’s this spirit of togetherness and shared hope
that the House of Representatives should strive to embody. The Republican leadership should be ashamed of themselves. It reveals the underlying hateful nature of the anti-gay constitutional amendment movement.”

Dibble questioned the timing of allowing Dean to lead the prayer.

“In this time of divisiveness, it’s disgraceful and appalling to see the Speaker of the House of Representatives the body that is supposed to represent all Minnesotans invite hatred into the opening prayer,” Sen. Dibble, a former House member, said. “Instead of providing a message of inclusion and hope, the House began this day with hate and discrimination. Mr. Dean has a long and well-known record of intolerance, something that should have no place in the legislature, let alone in a prayerful blessing. This morning’s action is a sad commentary on House Republican leadership’s apparent ambivalence for supporting the equal rights and beliefs of all Minnesotans.”

Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester, called it the “most offensive ‘prayer’ ever,” and that it’s “never happened before.”

The Woodbury Bulletin reports that Rep. Greg Davids, R-Presto, leaned over and told a colleague during Dean’s prayer, “that is going to leave a mark.”

House Speaker Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, took to the House floor to apologize for the prayer saying, “That type of person will never ever be allowed on this House floor again as long as I have the honor of serving as speaker.”

Zellers also released a statement on the matter, saying, “I respectfully apologize to all members in the MN House and all citizens of this state for today’s morning prayer. As Speaker, I take responsibility for this mistake. I am offended at the presence of Bradlee Dean on the floor of the MN House. I denounce him, his actions and his words. He does not represent my values or the values of this state.”

Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud, the chief author of the bill to codify an anti-gay marriage law in the Minnesota Constitution, said, “I absolutely repudiate the man who spoke at the start of session and his message of hate. Respect and decency must rule!”

Bradlee Dean is no stranger to courting political controversy. His past statement, made on his radio program, that Muslim countries that execute gays and lesbians are more moral than American Christians was highlighted by detractors of GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer last fall after it was revealed that Emmer had donated to the ministry.

Dean’s website says he has hosted several notable Republicans on his radio show, the same show he frequently calls for the incarceration of gays and lesbians, including former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli, U.S. Senate candidate Dan Severson, State Sen. Paul Gazelka, R-Brainerd, State Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, and Rep. Michele Bachmann, who has also raised funds for Dean’s group, You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International, on numerous occasions.

Before Rep. Michele Bachmann was a politician, her oldest son, Lucas, remembered going to the Goodwill store with his mom to buy a pair of winter boots. They were in and out of the store only minutes after they arrived in their beat-up car nicknamed “The Bomb.”

“I’ll never forget that,” Lucas said as he laughed. “My mom took one look at that price tag on the boots and said, ‘this is just too over priced’ and then we left.”

Lucas Bachmann, who is 28 and finishing his residency in forensic psychiatry, said he learned to be frugal from his mom, who pushed him and his four siblings to work for their money and be cautious and responsible in spending it.

Today, Michele Bachmann, leader of the congressional tea party caucus in the U.S. House, is turning frugality in government into a campaign theme as she gauges the support she might draw in Iowa and across the country for a possible run for the Republican presidential nomination.

While her family and supporters see a good-hearted but penny-wise Christian mother who worked with disabled kids and took in bulimic and anorexic foster children, her opponents see a bare-knuckles campaigner with far-right views and a penchant for hyperbole and misstating facts in attacking opponents.

An emphasis on faith, a propensity for hyperbole

She once called the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama a “gangster government” and told Chris Matthews on his “Hardball” talk show that the media should conduct an investigation into the patriotism of members of Congress.

While speaking at an Iowans for Tax Relief event last January, the congresswoman said President Obama had accumulated more debt in one year than all of the presidents combined. That assertion was inaccurate and “mathematically impossible,” according to The Fact Checker, a Washington Post column by Glenn Kessler, the former national business editor, who also has covered domestic economic policy and the tax cut policies of former President George W. Bush.

Recently, Bachmann traveled to Iowa to attend Rep. Steve King’s Conservative Principles Conference. Bachmann spoke at the event along with other possible presidential candidates like Newt Gingrich, Haley Barbour and Herman Cain. Bachmann told the crowd “social conservatism is fiscal conservatism.”

Bachmann’s faith has always been a crucial element in dealing with the demanding lifestyle of a politician and the negative consequences that come along with it, her husband, Marcus Bachmann, said in a recent interview.

But she once demonstrated that faith in a peculiar way, said Sen. Scott Dibble (D-Minneapolis) who served with her in the Minnesota senate. Dibble, who is openly gay, said his colleagues and staff saw Bachmann praying over his desk in the senate chambers when he was not around.

He said she often pushed social issues onto the agenda – sometimes in a hostile manner – despite Minnesota’s fiscal crisis. In 2003 and 2005, Bachmann unsuccessfully fought for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

“She would argue that kids would be lured into the evils of homosexuality,” Dibble said.

Bachmann declined repeated requests for an interview and did not answer specific questions about Dibble’s comments or others’ allegations that she routinely misstates facts in attacking her opponents.

But her husband argued that people misunderstand his wife.

“Knowing that Michele is misunderstood, and that the portrait of her is being so far to the crazy right is frustrating,” Marcus said. “She is very intelligent and is in politics for the right reasons. Why else would she be elected over and over again?”

Working class roots

Long before she started mixing it up against Democrats, she was a Democrat as well as a stay-at-home mother and a tax attorney and an Iowan.

Bachmann grew up in Waterloo, Iowa, with her parents and three brothers. In her early teens, the family moved to Brooklyn Park, Minn. When Bachmann was 15, her parents divorced, and her father, David Amble, moved to California and remarried.

Bachmann’s mother, Jean Amble, initially worked as a clerk at Dayton’s department store barely making minimum wage. Amble eventually got a job at First National Bank, but her yearly salary of $4,800 was not enough to support four children and pay the bills.

So, the Ambles moved out of their Brooklyn Park house to a small three-bedroom apartment in Anoka.

Bachmann’s brother, Paul Amble, the chief forensic psychiatrist for Connecticut, said that sometimes it was difficult to pay for basic necessities like clothes and food.

Consequently, the kids were expected to pay for all additional expenses.

In high school, Bachmann drove a bus picking up and dropping off handicapped children from various events. Outside of her job as the bus driver, Amble said that Bachmann organized a trip for the kids to go to a Minnesota Vikings playoff game against the Saint Louis Cardinals.

Later, Bachmann continued to work with disabled individuals at a state mental hospital in Willmar, Minn.

One summer, Bachmann gutted and canned salmon at her uncle’s business in one of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

“She won Miss Congeniality in the Miss Anoka competition,” Amble said. “She didn’t do it to be a pageant girl. We didn’t have money for that. She just wanted to speak in public and be a part of student life.”

The Ambles regularly attended their Lutheran church on Sundays and on religious holidays.

“Michele was much more actively involved with her faith than the rest of us though,” Amble said.

As a participant in a Christian organization called Young Life, Bachmann learned of an opportunity to volunteer on a kibbutz in Israel. To raise money for the trip, Bachmann rallied her brothers to help fill garbage bags full of popcorn to sell to people in the neighborhood.

Bachmann was a straight A student in school, and according to Amble, she was clever in tricking the siblings to do her share of Saturday chores.

“She developed a point system and attached points to various tasks like washing the dishes or weeding the garden,” Amble said laughing. “She had me and my brother so excited competing for points.”

Graduating early from Anoka High School, Bachmann went to a theater arts program in the Twin Cities where she performed in a few plays. She attended Anoka-Ramsey Community College to complete her general education credits.

Entering politics – as a Democrat

Bachmann’s passion for politics can be traced back to her college days at Winona State University in Minnesota.

Marcus Bachmann, her husband of 32 years, met Michele at Winona when they volunteered at an elementary school supervising kids during recess.

Marcus said she loved politics. “She was the strong academic type. You know, not a big drinker. She loved to read, do bible studies and was very involved in the Christian fellowship program on campus,” Marcus said.

Marcus eventually became involved in Michele’s political endeavors. During their senior year of college, the two worked together on Jimmy Carter’s campaign stuffing envelopes and dropping literature in Minnesota neighborhoods.

After Carter won the election, Marcus and Michele, along with other campaign staff and former Congressman Tim Penny, rode a bus from Minnesota to Washington, D.C., to attend the presidential inaugural ball.

“It was one of the most exciting times we had together,” Marcus said. “At that time though, the Democratic Party was much more aligned with the moderate conservatives.”

After working on the campaign, Michele and Marcus developed a strong conviction against abortion after watching a Christian documentary series by Francis Schaeffer called “How Should We Then Live?”

Becoming a lawyer, no longer a Democrat

According to Marcus, this is when Bachmann began to drift away from the Democratic Party.

When they graduated, Marcus proposed to Michele the day after Valentine’s Day. In the fall, they were married at his parent’s dairy farm in Wisconsin.

“We took a year off before going back to school, because we just wanted to enjoy being married and try out different employment opportunities,” Marcus said.

Over the next ten years, Marcus earned his doctorate in clinical psychology while Bachmann earned a law degree from O.W. Coburn School of Law at Oral Roberts University in 1986. Later, Bachmann received her post-doctoral degree in tax law.

At one point, The American Bar Association questioned the credibility of O.W. Coburn School of Law, because it required students to sign a code that confirmed belief in Jesus Christ. This violated the association’s standard on religious discrimination. However, a court later found that the association could not deny accreditation based on religious grounds.

Bachmann worked full time as a federal tax litigation attorney until their first son, Lucas, was three years old. As their family began to grow, she was switching between full time and part time but eventually became a stay-at-home-mom when they were expecting their fifth child, Sophia Bachmann.

The Bachmanns home-schooled their children for a number of years before sending them to a private Christian school in their community. Recently, Michele Bachmann traveled to Iowa to speak at the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators conference at the capitol. At the event, Bachmann spoke against government regulations on families that chose to home-school their children.

During the course of raising their five biological children, Marcus and Michele also assumed the role of foster parents to 23 adolescent girls, many of whom suffered severe eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.

To the foster agency, Marcus Bachmann’s occupation as a clinical therapist proved to be helpful when fostering such high-risk children.

According to Lucas Bachmann, his parents took in foster children from 1992 to 1998 and raised up to nine kids at one time.

“Michele and I knew that this was the last stop for them,” Marcus said. “We weren’t trying to be saviors of the world. We were just trying to give consistent care and love for them and show an example of a functional home.”

As for Bachmann’s future in politics, Marcus said that she is dedicated to serving the sixth district of Minnesota and is not interested in challenging Sen. Amy Klobuchar for her seat in the U.S. Senate.

However, Bachmann’s recent visits to Iowa have propelled her into the spotlight as a potential presidential candidate.

“We have not talked about her running for president,” Marcus said. “There is no pre-determined plan for her success, but it is something that we would pray to God about, and if we felt at peace with making a decision like that, well, God leads us and he opens doors for us.”

Click the box to watch Bachmann speak at The Family Leader Presidential Lecture Series.

Anja Sivertson is a journalism major at the University of Iowa’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Sivertson’s report was provided by IowaWatch.org, a nonprofit website run by The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism.

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.

Dibble chastised Republicans who seemed shy to speak on the Senate floor in support of the amendment. During three hours of debate, only Limmer and Sen. Paul Gazelka, R-Brainerd, spoke in favor of the amendment.

“I think they are ashamed of themselves. I think they know they are wrong,” Dibble told reporters after the vote. “I think the order from their operatives and party handlers was, ‘Be quiet, because what we are doing is not where Minnesotans are at.’ They are responding to the pressure of a very vocal minority.”

One reporter mentioned Dibble’s charge that GOP members are ashamed of their position and asked, “Do you believe gay marriage is morally wrong?”

Sen. Warren Limmer

Limmer refused to answer. “It’s up to the public to make a direction and advice to the Legislature and state government.

He added, “I’m sorry that Sen. Dibble thinks that way.”

Reporters weren’t content with that answer. “Is there, for you, a personal moral consideration in carrying this bill?”

Again Limmer dodged. “The purpose of this is for the public to decide. I’ve been around this issue, studied it. I’ve carried it for years.”

He said it was important for the people, not judges, to make decisions on who can marry.

But despite Limmer’s shyness about discussing his personal motivations for authoring the anti–gay marriage amendment, in years past he’s been a vociferous opponent of LGBT rights. In 2003, when the U.S. Supreme Court stuck down sodomy laws, which were historically used to jail gays and lesbians even for simply gathering in bars, Limmer was outraged.

“I think the decision reflects a continued downward spiral away from traditional values that have created a strong foundation for families,” he told the Star Tribune.

That same year Limmer sponsored a bill that would remove protections for gays and lesbians from the Minnesota Human Rights Act. That measure prohibits discrimination against gays and lesbian in employment and housing.

During a committee hearing on his bill, Limmer questioned OutFront Minnesota, the state’s largest LGBT equality group.

“Is it your organization’s desire to continue promoting this style of sex education and lifestyle in the public schools?” He asked. “Parents are fearful of the introduction of this particular lifestyle as a threat to their children’s health. That lifestyle is contrary to what they feel is the correct value system to teach their children. What happens if sex orientation as a protected class is taught to a 9-year old student? When does a parent have the opportunity to say that’s not right?”

He offered his view on civil rights based on sexual orientation versus those based on race. “Sexual orientation may be perceived as more of action,” he told the committee. “Do you teach a person to be black?”

Limmer has sponsored or cosponsored the anti–gay marriage amendment each time it has been brought up, and with the exception of this year, the amendment language has barred civil unions and domestic partnerships as well as same-sex marriage.

He was also the lead opponent of domestic partner benefits for state employees under the Ventura administration. Former Gov. Jesse Ventura had pushed for such benefits. Limmer was a major player in getting those benefits revoked.

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.”

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.

Maple Grove Republican Sen. Warren Limmer, the measure’s chief author, said the bill was not about putting forth an issue that’d boost voter turnout for the GOP in 2012. “Quite honestly, it could cut both ways,” he said at a press conference. “We believe we owe the public the opportunity to be engaged.”

When asked about the timing of the bill and if he thought there would be a backlash, he said, “Personally I don’t think there’s going to be that much backlash on this. We want to give the public as much time as possible to consider it.”

The bill will be fast-tracked to meet Friday’s committee deadline for bills, Limmer said, and it will receive a hearing this week.

Sen. Paul Gazelka of Brainerd was questioned by reporters about whether his district is open to such an amendment considering he defeated the state’s only gay Republican, former Sen. Paul Koering, in the 2010 primary.

“The district, which I think reflects the state, wants gays and lesbians to live how they choose, but doesn’t want to redefine marriage,” he said.

Since the bill is a ballot initiative, it will bypass Gov. Mark Dayton’s veto pen should it pass both chambers of the Legislature, which — since both bodies are controlled by Republicans — it seems likely to do.

The ballot question would read, “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota?”

DFLers called the amendment push a distraction.

“It’s disturbing that Republicans want to use one of the last weeks of the legislative session to marginalize one group of people and divide our state,” Sen. Scott Dibble of Minneapolis said. “We are facing a $5 billion budget shortfall, yet Republicans believe the biggest threat to our state’s welfare is who is allowed to be married.”

He added, “For same-sex couples, marriage is about economics; it’s about allowing families to take responsibility for each other and support their loved ones, creating strong households throughout our state. For this reason, there is significant evidence that the states that do the best economically are the ones that embrace diversity, not shut it out.”

“With this amendment, we are taking Minnesota in exactly the opposite direction of where we should be headed – toward a stronger economy that welcomes the contributions of all people,” he said.

Sen. Tom Bakk of Cook said, “Prior to the Easter recess, I told the Republican leadership when we got back there would be four weeks left to the session,” said Bakk. ” I don’t know if they don’t understand the budget challenges they face. It is time to get to work on these budget bills. These policy type issues can wait until next year.”

“When we reach May 23 with no budget deal, I will say to them, ‘I told you back in April, I told you to start focusing on the budget every day,’” he added.

Dibble said he expects that the Mormon Church and the Catholic Church to step in and spend tens of millions of dollars on a campaign to pass the amendment.

“The archbishop is probably going to try and raise millions of dollars on this,” he said. “We already saw his DVD campaign last year.”

In addition to Limmer and Gazelka, the bill was introduced by Sens. David Hann of Eden Prairie, Benjamin Kruse of Brooklyn Park, David Brown of Becker, Mike Parry of Waseca, Dave Thompson of Lakeville, Sean Nienow of Cambridge, Dan Hall of Burnsville, Pam Wolf of Spring Lake Park, Gretchen Hoffman of Vergas and Bill Ingebrigtsen of Alexandria.

As the Minnesota Senate debated a K-12 education budget bill on Thursday, Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) offered an amendment that would strengthen the state’s anti-bullying laws. The proposal would instruct school districts to set up trainings for staff — from teachers to bus drivers — on how to handle bullying. The bill was defeated on a party line vote, with Republicans voting against it.

“The bullying that young people experience is learned behavior,” Dibble told his colleagues on the Senate floor on Thursday afternoon. “This bill seeks to ensure that all kids are protected. In a perfect world we’d say no more bullying and it’d be done, but we don’t live in a perfect world.”

The amendment spells out a number of bullying characteristics that school districts should train staff on, from sexual orientation to national origin to economic status. Current law only covers race, sex and religion.

“What happens when we are not specific, students experience the same level of harassment and bullying,” said Dibble. “Among Minnesota’s school districts, 80 percent do not include national origin or disability, 93 percent of schools don’t do so on the basis of sexual orientation.”

Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove) said that existing anti-bullying laws were satisfactory and urged lawmakers to reject Dibble’s amendment.

Dibble responded, “Kids tell us clearly, they plead with us, ‘Protect us.You are not protecting us when you are being intentionally vague.”

He added, “The evidence shows us things are worse for kids when we don’t have specific policies on the books. You are abandoning them; that’s the effect of a ‘no’ vote” on the amendment.

Limmer responded, “We have had this discussion since 1989. I would subject to the body that we have all the necessary policies we need. They are already on the books.”

Limmer accused Dibble of repealing anti-bullying laws. The amendment would indeed repeal existing anti-bullying laws, but would replace them with stronger provisions.

Dibble shot back, “Please stop misleading the public and this body.”

The amendment was defeated by a vote of 28-35.

Dibble said he would continue to push for the bill.

“This common-sense amendment would have added much-needed protection for children and their families, and sent a message that we are serious about taking care of Minnesota’s kids. Instead, the Republican majority, at the behest of extremist special interests, took the opportunity to reject the amendment and subsequently pass a bill that, in its entirety, fails Minnesota schools and students,” he said in a statement following the vote.

Dibble and the House author of a similar bill, Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis), are planning a meeting next week with safe schools advocates to determine next steps.

“This was simple language intended to address a very complicated problem, uphold widely held Minnesota values, and give guidance and support to those teachers and faculty trying to address an extremely serious harm that affects our children every day,” Dibble said. “The fact that it was soundly rejected by the Republican majority is just more evidence of hard-line political beliefs standing in the way of good policy for the people of Minnesota.”

A move by Minnesota Republicans to repeal school integration laws resulted in heated debate about the decades-long program that aims to diversify schools in the Twin Cities metro area and Duluth. During a floor debate on elimination of desegregation programs Thursday, Sen. Dan Hall, R-Burnsville, said, “I watched Minneapolis get destroyed, so I not only didn’t want my kids in the school system. I took them out of Minneapolis because they ruined our neighborhoods with integration and [de]segregation.”

The K-12 education omnibus bill in the House and Senate would take funding from integration and desegregation programs in the Twin Cities and Duluth and shift them to statewide programs for literacy. The bill also repeals the unfunded portions of Minnesota law dealing with desegregation.

Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) has significant problems with the bill. “Let’s talk about how segregated many of our communities still are,” he said. “Minneapolis over the last 40 years has been intensely engaged in desegregation and integration. With this bill, all that is now knocked away without any hearings.”

Dibble said the bill would harm college-readiness programs, college and career centers and magnet schools which have helped foster diverse learning environments, improved opportunities for minority students, higher adult incomes for low-income students and low-income students completing more years of higher education.

“I fear what we see here the is the politics of envy and division and protecting our own,” he said, “not the ‘one Minnesota’ we hearken back to.”

Freshman Sen. Hall’s statement on the Senate floor seemed to back up some of Dibble’s concerns. Hall backs taking the integration funds and using them for statewide literacy programs.

“Well, I don’t speak up too often, but this one has pushed my buttons. I am a product of the Minneapolis school system, completing all of my years, all the different schools,” said Hall. “I graduated with a 6th grade reading ability. I struggled my whole life. We need to teach kids how to read.”

“I watched Minneapolis get destroyed, so I not only didn’t want my kids in the school system… I took them out of Minneapolis because they ruined our neighborhoods with integration and segregation.”

He said he applauded the teachers and coaches he had growing up, but said, “The system is broke. My best friends are minority, they think integration in foolish. It’s a ploy to get more money.”

He added, “Treat everyone equally and with respect. Right down the line I teach my kids. I teach them every day we treat everyone with respect. It’s disrespectful to tell my friends, my minority friends that they can’t make it without extra special help.”

The K-12 education omnibus bill passed the Senate on Thursday by a party-line vote. A bill with a similar repeal of desegregation programs passed the House as well. Both are headed to conference committee to hash out any differences before heading to Gov. Mark Dayton.

Update: The DFL has now posted video of Hall’s statement on YouTube.