Gay Marriages Start Today in MN; Advocates Rejoice

Gay Marriages Start Today in MN; Advocates Rejoice

The same-sex marriage law isn’t the only new one on the books today.

Since the governor signed the same-sex marriage bill May 14, there has been no date discussed as much as Aug. 1.

Thursday, of course, is the date same-sex marriage becomes legal in Minnesota. At midnight, Minnesota will officially become the 12th state in the United States to open the institution of marriage to gay couples.

The state’s marriage laws will change from being male/female specific to authorize marriage and divorce of two persons, regardless of gender. It will provide exemptions for churches and other religious associations from providing goods or services related to same-sex marriage ceremonies, if doing so would be in violation of the entity’s religious beliefs.

The law was sponsored by Rep. Karen Clark (DFL-Minneapolis) and Sen. D. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis). As a bill, its introduction into the legislative process came six months after voters turned down a ballot measure to place in the state constitution a definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman.

The debate in the Legislature was contentious, with frequent rallies at the State Capitol from those on both sides of the issue. Both of Hopkins’ legislators made their voices heard during the debate.

Sen. Ron Latz countered religious opposition by arguing that “marriage is not a uniquely religious event.”  Rep. Steve Simon fought back tears as he urged his colleagues to welcome same-sex couples into one of society’s most-cherished institutions.

“I don’t think we should scorn that. We should embrace it. We should embrace their embrace,” Simon said. “I think slowly as a society we’re going to the realization—some faster than others—those in the GLBT community do not have some condition to be pitied or prayed away. What they have is a God-given orientation, which should be celebrated and welcomed.”

An amendment on the House Floor to insert “civil” before the word “marriage,” in all state statute references, tempered the debate, bringing in enough bipartisan support for the measure to pass both bodies. The language change, it was thought, would clarify the distinction between state-sanctioned civil marriages and marriages within religious faith traditions.

More than 5,000 same-sex couples have filed for licenses across the state, media outlets report. Some expect that to be a boon for the wedding industry—although not all businesses are seeing changes immediately.

While the same-sex marriage bill has occupied the lion’s share of attention, it’s not the only new law that takes effect at midnight.

New liquor laws will address the state’s growing microbrew industry, and paramedics will need more training. Information about these and other select new laws that take effect Aug. 1, 2013, can be accessed via the Minnesota House website. A complete summary of all laws passed by the 2013 Legislature is now available online from the House Public Information Services Office.