Legislative Update: 3/30/04

Senate Judiciary Committee Activity
On The Proposed Anti-Marriage Amendment

On Friday March 26th, 2004, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-4 not to send the Minnesota Anti-Marriage Amendment forward. This is a great victory for Minnesota's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and allied communities, and we should be very pleased! Take a few moments to thank the members of the Judiciary Committee who voted to stop this measure.

Senator Don Betzold
E-mail: sen.don.betzold@senate.mn

Senator Richard J. Cohen
E-mail: (use form on above web site)

Senator John Marty
E-mail: sen.john.marty@senate.mn

Senator Ann H. Rest
E-mail: (use form on above web site)

Senator Wesley J. Skoglund
E-mail: sen.wes.skoglund@senate.mn

While this should stop the amendment from moving forward in this legislative session, Senator Michelle Bachman has vowed that she will continue to try to bring the Minnesota Anti-Marriage Amendment (MAMA) to the floor of the Senate for a debate and floor vote. We do not believe that we will be truly out of the woods until the session is adjourned.

At the same time that the Senate Judiciary Committee stopped the Minnesota Anti-Marriage Amendment from moving forward, it also passed a bill for a constitutional amendment that, if adopted, would put the authority for defining marriage only in the hands of the Legislature and out of the purview of the judiciary. OutFront Minnesota testified in opposition to this proposal, as did Teresa Nelson from the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union and Professor Teresa Collett, the University of St. Thomas Law Professor who testified in support of the Minnesota Anti-Marriage Amendment. No one in the hearing room testified in favor of the bill.

This second bill was sent to the Senate Rules Committee, also on a 5-4 vote, without a recommendation for what further action was appropriate. OutFront Minnesota believes that this amendment, if passed, would establish an extremely dangerous precedent by which the Legislature could simply deprive Minnesota courts from hearing cases involving controversial constitutional issues. Regardless of whether such an issue may be controversial, it is the central function of courts to interpret constitutional provisions, including those protecting minorities from the imposition of unequal treatment by the majority.

OutFront Minnesota will be keeping a close eye on the proceedings at the Capitol, so please watch your e-mail and our web site for updates and Action Alerts.

One of the easiest ways to keep informed about events in Minnesota is by joining the Citizen Q Network, our statewide, e-mail activist network.

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.