Election 2012

Ritchie Was Right On Same-Sex Marriage Wording: Letter to the Editor

Dale Carpenter is a professor of constitutional law at the University of Minnesota.

Editor's Note: Prof. Dale Carpenter sent in this note in response to a poll and discussion on Patch about Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's choice of a title for a constitution amendment on the 2012 ballot that would ban same-sex marriage. One thing the news outlets have been missing is that it's actually the legal responsibility of the secretary of state, not the legislature, to determine the ballot title. That has been the case since 1919, when the Secretary of State was given authority to choose an "appropriate title" for amendments passed by the legislature. The idea is that the governmental body that wants the amendment should not be allowed single-handedly to stack the deck in its favor by choosing the title as well. It's a…

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Andrea Parrott

1:39 pm on Saturday, November 24, 2012

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'It's Legal in Iowa. What's Wrong with Minnesota?'

Sunday, 200 people showed up in support of 'Dakota County Votes No,' a new organization aimed at defeating a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

For one Dakota County couple, the struggle for "Freedom to Marry" predates the Minnesota Marriage Amendment by over four decades.  “It’s déjà vu. This is sheer ignorance and pride—just like 45 years ago,” said Thea Harriday, an Apple Valley resident who met her husband, an African American, over 43 years ago. At the time, less than a decade had gone by since the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional in 1967 (Loving v. Virginia).  Though Minnesota was one of a handful of states that had never enacted laws forbidding interracial marriage, the social stigma against it was strong. Harriday said her family disowned her and over 200 relatives living in the Twin Cities boycotted the wedding—an especially painful …

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Bernard P. Friel

12:45 pm on Tuesday, May 1, 2012

It is unfortunate that so much time and energy must be devoted to opposing this ill advised amendment (and it should be opposed) sent to the voters by the Republican majority in the legislature, for I believe that it can be reasonably anticipated, that in the near future such state Constitutional provisions and legislation, will be held unconstitutional under the U.S.Constitution. That …   more ›

Beth Jacob Leaders, Minnesota Rabbinical Association Oppose Marriage Amendment

Association's stance against what they say is discrimination stands in contrast to the position taken by Minnesota's Catholic bishops.