Gay

State Senator Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) has introduced legislation in the Minnesota State Senate to extend marriage equality to everyone. Our challenge in coming weeks is that we really have this discussion with renewed energy, about why marriage matters, why family matters, Dibble said. Star Tribune reporter Baird Helgeson wrote about the mar... riage equality battle looming in the state legislature: This new fight puts Minnesota squarely in the cross hairs of a swiftly changing national debate over the rights of gay Americans . Earlier this week, the National Organization for Marriage pledged $500,000 to defeat any Minnesota Republican legislator who votes to legalize same-sex marriage. But on Wednesday, in preparation for when the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments on same-sex marriage late next month, 200 of the largest corporations in the country publicly signaled their support for such unions. So have a number of nationally prominent Republicans. After Minnesotas November defeat of the GOP -led constitutional ban and the ouster of Republicans from legislative leadership, advocates now believe they have their best shot at overturning the states statutory ban. Minnesota would then join the nine states where same-sex marriage is legal. The Colorado Civil Unions bill advanced in the state House Judiciary Committee by an 8-3 vote. The legislation is headed to the House Finance and Appropriations committees, and it is expected that the final bill will reach the floor of the House during the week of March 11, 2013. The Denver Post reporter Lynn Bartels described the emotional journey that a Republican state legislator went on before she decided to support the bill. A Republican lawmaker from one of Colorado's most conservative counties voted Thursday to support civil unions, the latest signal that attitudes toward gays have changed drastically in recent years. Rep. Carole Murray of Castle Rock said some might be surprised that a politician with a voting record that she said has been described as "to the ...Read More