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We are not surprised by the poll results and find them useful as we
continue to work against the proposed constitutional amendment.
In the first place, the poll does not effectively explain the scope
and impact of the proposed amendment. If passed, the constitutional
amendment would permanently discriminate against some of Minnesota's
families by stating that no legal recognition of same-sex relationships
would be permissible. Ironically, the courts would be in the position of
deciding what "legal recognition" is. That aside, we know that polls
taken in other states show that public support for legal recognition of
same-sex relationships increase when the rights and responsibilities of
marriage are listed and explained. This poll does not do that.
We cannot, therefore, assume that this poll mandates discrimination
in Minnesota.
Further, the poll merges civil and religious marriage into one
question. Fifty-one percent of those polled responded that "a
constitutional amendment is needed in Minnesota to make sure that
marriage, both religious and civil ceremonies, can only be between a man
and a woman." As we all know, the state cannot control what religious
organizations do, so a constitutional amendment inclusive of religious
marriage would be inappropriate. We should never confuse the two.
And, let's not forget that the Minnesota Family Council and Citizens
in Defense of Marriage have already spent huge amounts of money on
billboard and radio campaigns aimed at Senators and asking constituents
to contact them to support this constitutional amendment. OutFront
Minnesota will need to wage a similar public communications campaign in
order to keep this amendment off of the ballot and potentially, if it
makes it to the ballot, to keep it from passing. We will need your
financial
support to do this.
As a community working to make the State of Minnesota a place where
GLBT Minnesotans have the freedom, power and confidence to make the best
choices for their own lives, we have been successful:
- In 2003, we worked together and defeated an attempt by
Representative Arlon Lindner to repeal the state human rights
statute as it relates to sexual orientation. He no longer serves in
the Minnesota House.
- In 2004, we successfully worked together to defeat an attempt to
place the anti-same-sex marriage amendment on the ballot. Of the 13
incumbents who lost their House races last year, 12 had voted for
the constitutional amendment.
- In this legislative session, we have so far been successful in
keeping the amendment off of the 2006 ballot. Most notably, on the
day of OutFront Minnesota's justFair Lobby Day, the Senate voted
against a proposal to bring the amendment bill out of committee to
the floor of the Senate, disrespectfully bypassing the Senate's own
process. The Legislature is still in session and we are at the
Senate every day – lobbying, observing, and working with our
colleagues and supporters to ensure that this bill does not go
anywhere this year.
- We had a very successful hearing in the House during this
legislative session as well. While we did not win the vote in that
committee or on the floor of the House, hundreds of people showed up
in Grand Rapids to let our legislators know that there is a loud and
clear constituency who do not support this constitutional amendment.
The Itasca GLBTA Alliance, a group OutFront Minnesota has worked
with for many years, did a fantastic job of organizing testimony and
a supportive audience in the hearing room. Many of the attendees and
most of the testifiers were not GLBT but are adamantly opposed to
discrimination in any form. We can be proud of the impact that
hearing made on the Grand Rapids community and the state at large.
We value clear, thoughtful, deliberate, calm, and inclusive action in
our work at OutFront Minnesota. We are constantly updating a campaign
plan designed to continue to stop the amendment in the Legislature
during this biennium. But we also think it is prudent to plan a campaign
strategy that, if necessary, will win the hearts and minds of voters at
the ballot box in 2006. So, we are doing just that. Our strategy focuses
on energizing and activating thousands of fair-minded Minnesotans – in
their places of worship, businesses, schools, civic groups, GLBT and
allied organizations – throughout the state. We are asking all
fair-minded Minnesotans to take a stand against this amendment and join
us in these efforts.
We look forward to sharing this plan with you in the coming weeks.
Stay tuned for more information about what we are doing and the ways you
can work with us and join others in the fight for fairness for all
Minnesotans.
The people who are pushing for the amendment have spent a lot of time
and money promoting homophobia. Our common sense tells all of us that
when you work really hard to appeal to fear, you scare people. We will
win these efforts by building a bigger and stronger movement. It will be
hard, but we will win.
We at OutFront Minnesota are proud to be leaders in public policy on
behalf of GLBT rights in this state.
Sincerely,
Ann Marie DeGroot
Executive Director
OutFront Minnesota is a non-partisan organization serving
the GLBT and allied communities of Minnesota. All services including voter
guides, voter information, and voter registration are made available without
regard to a voter's political preference or on the basis of support or opposition
to a particular candidate.
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Yesterday's
Star Tribune poll shows how a well-funded group can impact
public opinion.