Marriage moment

For close to a decade, same-sex marriage has been a hotly debated issue in the state of Minnesota. However, it didn't appear the issue would ever be resolved unless one political party had complete control of state government. Sure, the GOP-controlled Legislature attempted to put the issue to rest two years ago. But since DFL governor Mark Dayton would not have signed a bill defining marriage as strictly between a man and a woman, Republicans went the route of putting the measure on the November 2012 ballot for voters to decide whether to amend the state constitution. Said measure failed.

Now the DFL has complete control of state government, which means they can ultimately decide this issue without any Republican support. Naturally, the Democrat position on gay "marriage" is overwhelmingly in support of such a union. The problem in this state is there are a number of Dems who represent rural areas where their constituents are more socially conservative. As such, they're hesitant to go against the people whom they represent. While it appears there are enough votes in the Senate to legalize same-sex marriage, it's unclear whether that's the case in the House. However, House Speaker Paul Thissen went on record saying he "thinks" there are enough votes in his chamber. It appears this Thursday is the day when the House will quite possibly move this issue to a floor vote.

So what does this mean? If you oppose gay marriage, it's time to make a last minute plea to House members. Assuming none of the Republicans in the House will vote "yes" that means six DFLers will have to be persuaded to break ranks and vote "no" to effectively thwart legalizing same-sex marriage this session.

The pro-traditional marriage organization, Minnesota For Marriage, is holding a rally Thursday at the State Capitol.

Here is the pertinent information:

To contact a member of the MN House of Representatives, you can find their telephone numbers here.

------------------------------------------------