The release comes days after 27-year-old Sen. Branden Petersen became the first Republican lawmaker in Minnesota to say he will likely support a bill to legalize gay marriage. In the release, NOM President Brian Brown singled out the senator from Andover.

For Branden Petersen, the past week has been, in his words, “unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.” It all started when the 27-year-old Republican senator from Andover told the Star Tribune that he’s likely to support a DFL effort to legalize gay marriage in 2013, just months after voters rejected a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

Carrying rainbow flags and signs saying "Love is Love," the supporters sang and chanted "marriage equality now" on Thursday afternoon as House members entered into their scheduled floor session for the day. The headliners of the event, organized by campaign-turned-lobbying group Minnesotans United for All Families, were clergy members representing denominations and faith groups from around the state.

No matter what comes of their efforts, two Democratic lawmakers from Minneapolis know they will be accused of moving too fast.

Gov. Mark Dayton vigorously defended his proposed budget for the next biennium-- including $2.1 billion in additional taxes -- in his annual State of the State address on Wednesday evening. Speaking before a joint session of the House and Senate, Dayton argued that a substantial overhaul of the state’s tax code is necessary to eliminate chronic budget deficits, make additional investments in key programs and restore fairness to the tax code.

The anti-amendment campaign turned issue-advocacy group took a big step toward transitioning into a full lobbying group last week, registering several lobbyists from Minneapolis-area law firm Messerli & Kramer to headline the effort.

On the night that House Republicans voted to place an amendment prohibiting gay marriage on the ballot in 2012, Sen. Scott Dibble stood outside the chamber and vowed that Minnesota would become the first state in the country to defeat such a proposal.

In a pair of interviews with Capitol Report, the Minnesota Legislature’s new leaders talk about budget priorities, tax code changes, bonding, and their short list of policy priorities for 2013.

As they prepare to take the reins of state government starting in 2013, Minnesota Democrats are attempting to strike a delicate balance between erasing a projected budget deficit and handling pent-up demand to tackle liberal social issues after two decades of divided control in St. Paul.

The last time DFLers controlled all the levers of power at the Capitol, during the 1989-90 legislative session, Duane Benson was the Republican Senate minority leader. Benson recalls making a floor speech at the time comparing the dynamic to a basketball contest between the Harlem Globetrotters and the Washington Generals.