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Civil unions bill draws sharp reaction
Republican Rep. Tim Kelly is one of the last GOP legislators you’d expect to find on the bad side of gay marriage advocates. The three-term member from Red Wing is well-known for bucking his own caucus in 2011 as Republicans worked to pass a controversial constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
House lawmakers introduce bill to allow civil unions
Republican Rep. Tim Kelly introduced the proposal in a Capitol news conference on Wednesday, which would add civil union language in state law next to any mention of marriage. Kelly was joined by Republican Reps. Pat Garofalo, Andrea Kieffer and Denny McNamara. Rochester DFL Rep. Kim Norton has also signed on to the bill but was not at the news conference.
Gay marriage poses dilemma for GOP
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.
Gay marriage lobby: Ready, set…
No matter what comes of their efforts, two Democratic lawmakers from Minneapolis know they will be accused of moving too fast.
Canterbury Park, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux cut deal that upends gambling debate
The catalyst for a landmark gambling deal cut between horseracing track Canterbury Park and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux tribe was a minor bill that didn’t get a single hearing during the 2012 legislative session.
Marriage amendment donor bases a study in contrasts
Minnesota will witness a multimillion-dollar referendum on the issue of gay marriage in 2012. Opponents of a proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman raised $1.2 million in cash contributions in 2011.
Kelly, Kriesel take big risk in amendment battle
It was bound to happen. Last week, for the first time, Republican Rep. Tim Kelly found himself confronted by a constituent angry about his vote against the GOP-backed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Minnesota.
Republicans join fight against marriage amendment
Minnesotans United for All Families (MUAF) is announcing a handful of Republican supporters in their effort to squash the GOP-led ballot imitative to ban gay marriage in 2012.
Foes of gay marriage ban face uncharted territory
On May 6 Richard Carlbom became engaged to his boyfriend of more than four years. Two weeks later the Minnesota House voted to place a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on the 2012 ballot.
Leadership of group opposing gay marriage ban includes four legislators
Minnesotans United for All Families, the main group opposing a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, has assembled a 35-member steering committee to guide its efforts. The group includes four state legislators: Reps. Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing, John Kriesel, R-Cottage Grove, and Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, and Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis.
Endorsement battles may loom for GOP moderates
There is a lot of uncertainty about the 2012 legislative election season. Most significantly, nobody knows exactly what legislative districts will look like when the redistricting process — which is expected to drag on into February or March — is finally completed.
House GOP vote on marriage amendment was defining issue of session’s last days
Around 4 o’clock last Saturday afternoon, the central drama of Session 2011’s closing days finally reared its head on the House floor. Shortly before the chamber recessed for dinner, GOP Rep. Mary Liz Holberg stood to announce the addition of a controversial constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage to the calendar for that evening’s proceedings.
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