Minnesota Green Party Regards State Legislature’s Marriage Amendment Proposal as Violation of Civil Rights

The Republican dominated Minnesota State Legislature, in the face of the majority of their constituents’ acceptance of the right of Gays and Lesbians to marry, have voted to put a proposal for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage on the ballot in November 2012. With a law prohibiting same- sex marriage already on the books as the so-called Defense of Marriage Act of 1997, there is no legal justification for such an action and we can only conclude that conservative legislators are once again basing decisions that affect all citizens on their narrow personal moral and religious beliefs. We believe that this clearly contradicts the core principle of separation of church and state held sacred by the very founding fathers these lawmakers claim as role models.

While some Democrats, including Governor Mark Dayton and senator Scott Dibble, who is gay, did speak out publicly against the amendment, there were only 3 ½ hours of debate before the measure passed in the Senate. Once again the two party system has failed to give Minnesotans a voice in fighting the domination of Minnesota politics by officials who are more beholden to special interest groups that to the citizens they were elected to represent.

Since its founding in 1994, the Green Party of Minnesota has supported legalizing marriage for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and trans-gendered people by applying the same standards, requirements, privileges, and responsibilities as applied to different-sexed couples. We urge all Minnesotans to speak out and help Minnesota Greens and other organizations concerned with civil liberties to let their congress people know what a travesty of justice this amendment would represent and to join us in voting “NO” in November 2012. With New York now joining the five other states, Washington, D.C., and the Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon where gay marriage is legal, and with abolishment of the military policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” we are hopeful that the tide is turning toward full protection of the civil rights of LGBT citizens.