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And if the five-hour House debate is any indication, Minnesotans are in for 18 months of emotional and hard-fought campaigning. The campaign is expected to bring in millions of dollars for both sides.
An hour after the House voted 70-62 to ask voters to decide whether marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman, those opposed to the amendment launched their campaign, Minnesotans United for All Families.WATCH how this went down
Bill sponsor Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud, said the issue is so important that the public should decide it.
“Not all wisdom resides here in the state Legislature and not all wisdom resides in our courts,” Gottwalt said as debate wound down.
As votes were tallied, “just vote no” chants came from outside the House chamber.
Opponents said they do not like where the amendment campaign could take Minnesota.
“That makes me fear for our state,” Rep. Kate Knuth, DFL-New Brighton, said.
“Marriage is a legal institution recognized by the state to promote stable relationships and to protect people in those relationships and their children,” the bill states. “Minnesota’s current marriage law discriminates against same-sex couples, denying them and their families rights and responsibilities, including the right to pension and Social Security survivor’s benefits, the right to family and medical leave, and numerous other benefits and obligations. The state has an interest in encouraging stable relationships regardless of the gender or sexual orientation of the partners and the entire community benefits when couples undertake the mutual obligations of marriage.”I think this is a solid gesture. I hope they try to stop this silly marriage ban.
The bill removes language from Minnesota statutes stemming from the 1997 Defense of Marriage Act. Instead, statutes that refer to “husband” and “wife” would also refer to “spouse.”
Doug Benson of Marriage Equality Minnesota, which helped draft a similar bill last year, said the bill isn’t likely to go anywhere.
“With little chance of passage this biennium, it is largely a symbolic gesture, but symbols are important,” he said. “We are pushing forward toward equality in the face of our oppressors’ onslaught,” he added, referring to a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
More to come as this issue continues.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill 8-4, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed. Passage by the full Senate and the House appears likely with solid Republican majorities in both chambers, meaning voters in 2012 would be asked to enshrine in Minnesota's Constitution a prohibition on same-sex marriage that already exists in state law.
Supporters said the constitutional definition of marriage is important enough to give the final say to voters, rather than elected officials or judges. Critics said the bill reflects a narrow religious agenda that doesn't belong in the state Constitution and that a months-long, divisive debate will distract from more important issues facing the state.
It's the first time in five years that a Minnesota legislative committee held a hearing on gay marriage. Two hours of testimony from both sides grew heated at times, and an overflow crowd that didn't fit into the Capitol hearing room could nonetheless be heard loudly cheering at pivotal moments as they watched nearby on closed-circuit TV.
The chief Senate sponsor of the bill, Republican Sen. Warren Limmer of Maple Grove, said a recent Hennepin County lawsuit challenging Minnesota's statute banning gay marriage demonstrated the need for a stronger constitutional prohibition. A judge dismissed that challenge earlier this year, but Limmer said it showed the risk to the traditional definition of marriage.
"This issue is on track to go forward to our court system," Limmer said.
The three management firms sponsoring the resolution — Calvert Asset Management, Trillium Asset Management and Walden — together hold $57.5 million of Target stock. Other institutional investors, including the giant New York state pension fund and union investment managers, are considering co-signing the resolution, which calls on Target's independent directors to review the criteria and risks in making donations to organizations active in political campaigns.There's more, please read the rest of the article. It's very telling about how Target truly f**ked up.Source URL: https://americanendeavor.blogspot.com/search/label/Minnesota
"Target should have carefully considered the implications that direct political contributions can have toward shareholder value," said Ola Fadahunsi, spokesman for New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the pension fund's sole trustee. "It's troubling to think that they can fund controversial candidates without properly assessing the risks and rewards involved."
The New York state pension fund currently holds 3.8 million shares in Target, with a market value of $283 million.
