Minnesota Lawmakers Open to Gay Marriage?

A 2009 statewide poll shows that Minnesota residents support granting gay couples "the same legal and economic rights and responsibilities" that married couples enjoy by a margin of 61% to 33%, with only 5 % of respondents expressing no opinion on the subject.  Perhaps taking a cue from this survey, lawmakers in the House held the state's first ever hearings to consider recognizing same-sex unions.  Currently there are three separate equality bills that  legislators are discussing -  although no plans have been made to vote on the measures in the near future.  Even so, the fact that testimony is being heard by the House’s Civil Justice Committee is a definite step in the right direction. 

From the website Politics in Minnesota:  A proposal introduced by Rep. Joe Mullery, DFL-Minneapolis, would allow two consenting adults to enter into  "civil union contracts," regardless of their gender. Another bill, put forth by Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, would recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states as legally valid in Minnesota.  But the most far-reaching legislation would legalize gay marriage by removing gender-based terminology in existing state statute. The measure was introduced by Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, more than a year ago and has 22 other Democratic co-sponsors. Kahn noted in advocating for the bill that she’s probably been married longer than any other current legislator at the Capitol.  "I just want to personally state that I think allowing other people to get married poses absolutely no threat to my marriage," Kahn told the committee...  Chris and Ryan Dolan were the first witnesses to testify in support of gay marriage. The couple, who got married in Toronto, brought along their adopted infant daughter, Olivia, to the hearing. Chris Dolan pointed out that the couple is penalized financially because gay marriage is outlawed in Minnesota...  Dale Carpenter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, prefaced his testimony by stating that he’s a lifelong conservative Republican. He argued that marriage is a powerful legal institution that encourages healthy, monogamous relationships - whether gay or straight.  "There have been no negative effects on heterosexual families or on children raised in those families," Carpenter testified of the increasing prevalence of gay marriage. "No slippery slope to polygamy or anything else."  (Where would homo haters be without their slippery slopes?)

Opponents of equality were also on hand to testify.  Father Michael Becker, a Catholic prelate, droned through his Vatican-approved talking points:  "Same-sex unions are not based on complementarity between a man and a woman.  They do not cooperate with God and plan for new life. They do not actually achieve a conjugal union. There's no way for one in a homosexual act to give themselves completely and be received simultaneously." (How arrogant.  It sounds like Father Becker is describing the loathsome relationship between a priest and an abused altar boy instead of two consenting adults who dedicate their lives to each other.  Gays and lesbians are perfectly capable of giving themselves completely and selflessly to their partners and their children, a fulfilling and normal experience Becker will never know.) 

Barb Davis White, an African American pastor running for Congress in the 5th Congressional District, declared that gay sex is physically dangerous and that children need both a mother and father in their lives.  (Time and again, research has shown that kids raised by same gender parents thrive just as well as those reared in traditional households.)  She then made this offensive statement:  "Rosa Parks didn’t move to the front of the bus to support sodomy." 

I doubt that Rosa Parks made her brave stand so that homophobes like Barb Davis White could go around bashing other minorities.   

Comments

[Aggie, Fair Haven, Vt.]

On that last point, as a teacher, I've had kids in my classroom that've had two moms, two dads, and the old mom and dad chestnut as well, of course. Of them, the only ones that were dysfunctional were heterosexual couples, actually, headed for divorce... the students I've had from LGBT households have always been particularly well-adjusted. It was from the single-parent homes, generally, that the kids seemed to have more issues, though that wasn't universally true, either. But having TWO adults at home seems to be the key. So, Barb Davis White, shut up.

[Nick]

It's funny, because I've been having an extensive facebook arguement with two dumbass religious zealot "friends" of mine on this issue (I wish you could see it Max). I got both of them to admit openly that they do not trust or believe a word of scientific conclusions because they come from dogmatic institutions (oh the irony). The anti-intellectualism present in such folks is mind-boggling. They would argue with you that the sky is orange, and then accuse you of being a victim of liberal-minded university brainwashing if you believe otherwise. Yet their burden of proof can be summed up by, "My pastor told me so."