Marriage Amendment

In November 2012, Minnesotans will vote on whether or not to amend the state constitution to forbid marriage between same-sex couples. The text of the the amendment is: 

“Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota.”

Same-sex marriage and the beginning and end of Minnesota politics: A tale of four circles

By David Schultz, Schultz's Take

The best thing that could happen to the Republican Party of Minnesota (RPM) if not the national Republican Party, is for same-sex marriage to be legalized. Its legalization would remove from the agenda one that the Republicans are losing on, and one that is continuing to alienate them from younger millennial voters and moderates. Legalization of same-sex marriage would permit Republicans to move away from social issues and concentrate on their core economic and limited government message.

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Schultz's Take

DFL legislators do indeed have a mandate

By Eric Ferguson, Minnesota Progressive Project

The first session of the new legislature with DFL majorities opens tomorrow [Tues, 1/8]. Anyone following the coverage and commentary sees the media and DFL legislators fretting about being accused of overreach if they do what they were elected to do. My choice of the word "fretting" might imply I don't take those concerns seriously, and, well, that's mostly right. Too many have it in their heads that the reason the GOP majorities were so short-lived was that they overreached. "Overreached" implies that the voters liked the GOP agenda, but just wanted a bit less of it. However, the GOP agenda was pretty thoroughly rejected --- there's no other way to read it when it lasts just two years and the voters could have blamed the DFL governor, but chose instead to give him a friendly legislature. That message wasn't, "You overreached." It was, "Please go away."

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Minnesota Progressive Project

Marriage amendment reprise: In District 64A, votes against marriage amendment exceed number of same-sex partnership households by a wide margin

By Judy Woodward, Park Bugle

Sara Ford (left) and Kim Klose with their sons, Jeremy and Cullen (Photo by Lori Hamilton)

In this area, the dominant color of the last election was orange. More common and more prominent than signs for any candidate—including the presidential contenders—the bright orange lawn signs advising passers-by to Vote No on the Marriage Amendment became the visual signature of the election.

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Income, geography, and the amendments: A look at the association between income and voting

By Sally Jo Sorensen, Bluestem Prairie

There's much map-posting going on about votes on the amendments that were on Minnesota's ballots, with some expressing surprise that the voter restriction amendment fared so poorly in Greater Minnesota.

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Bluestem Prairie

Interesting differences between Voter and Marriage restriction amendment votes

By Joe Bodell, Minnesota Progressive Project

You may have heard that Minnesota rejected two conservative-backed constitutional amendments yesterday. But how and why turn out to be very interesting questions.

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Minnesota Progressive Project

Churches try to bridge differences over Marriage Amendment through conversations

By Kristoffer Tigue, TC Daily Planet

Respectful Conversation gathering at Prince of Peace Lutheran in Burnsville on 10/9/12. (Photo by Maria Paschke, Communications and Development Assistant at the Minnesota Council of Churches.)

What if the solution to our political gridlock was as simple as the ground rules they set in group therapy sessions like Alcoholics Anonymous?

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Voting this election can be a complicated matter for Native Americans

By Allison Herrera, The Uptake

Native American voters may be in the minority across the country. But, in Minneapolis, Minnesota which has one of the highest concentration of Native Americans in the country, their votes on local issues and candidates add up, and politicians are paying attention.

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Elections 2012: This time, it's personal

By Sheila Regan, Behind the Story

Among all the polemics and slogans and zingers and gaffes, all the endless T.V.

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FREE SPEECH ZONE | The Marriage Amendment: Protecting the Children?

By Mariah Carray, Free Speech Zone

My family (mama: Donna, my sister: Emma, me, mom: Kathy)

Throughout history and among diverse cultures there have been many forms of marriage, from Abraham’s polygamous marriage with 12 women to today’s monogamous unions.  However, one theme is univ

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