MN marriage equality: here's how fast it happened. Here's why your work, and your vote, matter.
Today, Tuesday May 14th, Minnesota's Democratic Governor Mark Dayton will be proudly signing our marriage-equality bill into law. Minnesota will become the twelfth state in the nation to legally recognize the reality of same-sex marriages.
Two years ago, Governor Dayton and his veto pen were the only thing that stopped the GOP-contolled legislature from making their marriage-discrimination bill the law of this state.
Eight months ago, we were battling a ballot initiative that the GOP legislature had gotten onto the November ballot. If it had passed, then marriage discrimination would have been written into our state constitution.
I felt no hope of defeating that referendum. Oh sure, I smiled, and talked a good game, and proudly sported my "Vote No" bumpersticker. But inwardly, I felt it was hopeless. I felt sure that ignorance and cruelty would prevail.
But instead, that referendum went down. We killed it. I stayed up all night on election night, watching those results roll in, precinct by precinct, until I knew it was dead. And, as I watched, something else happened. Those red legislative districts on the map started to flicker blue, one after another after another. We had thrown the GOP majority out of both houses of the legislature!
In their early public pronouncements, our new Democratic congressional leaders were lukewarm at best about the idea of pressing for marriage equality. "Well", they said, "don't look for that to be a priority. We have pretty serious economic issues to be looking at , and bla bla bla..."
But the Republicans and their bigoted amendment had awakened the public. The surge of popular sentiment emboldened and encouraged timid congressional Democrats, and even a few of their Republican colleagues.
Today, the emancipation of the state's gay couples is at hand.
This is about people. It always comes down to people. Real people, feeling people, your friends and your neighbors and your loved ones. The Republicans were ready to shove them back into the chilly shadows for generations to come, and instead, today the sun shines on their faces, and they breath the sweet, fresh air.
And this is why your work, and your vote, matter. Don't back down. Don't back off. Don't let them disunite and discourage you.
This is about people.
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