|
Presumably moved by the prospect of thousands of Minnesotans arriving at
the Capitol to oppose the proposed constitutional amendment outlawing
legal recognition of same-sex couples and their families, Senator
Michele Bachmann, the author of SF 1691 (the Senate version of the
proposal), forced a vote in the Senate shortly before the Rally for
Fairness on whether to pull the bill from the Senate Judiciary Committee
and compel a floor vote of the full Senate. As with her identical effort
in 2004, the Senate voted to respect its legislative procedures and once
again defeated Sen. Bachmann's campaign to undermine Senate process.
Sen. Bachamnn's motion failed 30 to 36 along mostly party lines with
Senator Kiscaden (I-Rochester) and Senator Koering (R-Brainerd) also
voting in opposition. View the Senate voting
records.
SF 1691 was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which in 2004
defeated the proposal while approving an alternative constitutional
amendment to deprive courts of jurisdiction over questions relating to
marriage. Sen. Bachmann's refusal to respect Senate procedures, and the
timing of this most recent effort to get around them to coincide with
OutFront Minnesota's JustFair Lobby Day, strongly suggest that she is
more concerned about theatrics than about her alleged regard for
democratic process.
OutFront Minnesota will continue to track and report on developments
concerning this legislation, and other bills of particular concern to
the GLBT community and its allies. We are committed to defeating this
proposed constitutional amendment in whatever forum(s) necessary! To do
this, we need the continued efforts of all fair-minded Minnesotans,
whether that comes in the form of attending Lobby Day, contacting
legislators, writing letters to the editor, or sharing this information
with friends and family. Thank you so much for taking part in this
effort to keep discrimination out of the Minnesota constitution! |
