After the Minnesota state legislature voted to pass same-sex marriage yesterday, 78-59 in the lower chamber, with even some Republican support, Minnesota is now poised to become a state which allows same-sex marriage. But of course not all Republicans came away happy.
h/t Talking Points Memo. Video by Fox 9, Minneapolis.
“My heart breaks for Minnesota,” said a Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover.
“It’s a divisive issue that divides our state,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes as she stood on the House floor after the vote. “It’s not what we needed to be doing at this time. We want to come together for the state of Minnesota, we don’t want to divide it.”
Amendment 1, a proposal to ban gay marriage in Minnesota forever was passed by Republicans in 2011, but was later rejected by voters at the ballot box in November 2012, 52.6% - 47.4%, and "resulted in Minnesota being the first state, after 30 attempts, to defeat a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage". Millions of dollars were spent on both sides, evenly splitting the state for months with a long and rancorous debate.
But that's what happens when Republicans do things a lot of people don't like. In contrast, Thursday's vote was marked by civility.
The Senate is expected to vote on and pass the bill on Monday.
