Today is the day


Today, the Minnesota legislature is supposed to vote on gay marriage. I know because the pressure has been at fever pitch — I got three phone calls yesterday from advocacy organizations calling to get me to call my representative. I’ve told NOM to take a flying leap, but Minnesotans United, despite the annoying dunning, have my favor.

Apparently, my representative, Jay McNamar, is one of those dumbass undecideds. He’s been waffling over the issue, an uncertainty which doesn’t just leave me cold, it makes me actively dislike him. I’ve called him several times to tell him that this is the civil rights issue of our era, and if he can’t make up his goddamn mind about something as basic as human decency, he’s not on my side. If he votes against it, he’ll never have my vote ever again; if he can muster a little integrity and principle, maybe I’ll reluctantly put a mark next to his name on a ballot next time around.

But the word is that we’ll know today. Don’t disappoint me, Minnesota!

Comments

  1. says

    What’s McNamar’s “rationale,” if that’s the correct word, for being undecided, I wonder?

    “Hmm, are homosexuals objectively disordered sinners against God’s law whose deviance cannot be condoned lest we go the way of Sodom, or is it just the way some people happen to be and everyone deserves equal rights to happiness and social acceptance?

    I just can’t decide . . .”

  2. Reginald Selkirk says

    Sadly, Chris Kluwe was released by the Vikings. His on field performance has been excellent, so despite the official denials it appears that Kluwe’s advocacy for marriage equality and gay rights has cost him his job.

  3. ImaginesABeach says

    Reginald Selkirk – according to my mother (who is passionately in favor of marriage equality, and loved Kluwe’s writing on the subject), Kluwe’s performance on the field this year was “similar to that of Charlie Brown”, which is to say, not excellent.

  4. says

    Yeah sorry, Kluwe’s release is legit. Don’t go looking for evil that doesn’t exist — there’s plenty of the real thing.

  5. Yellow Thursday says

    My legislator is one of the co-sponsors of the bill. I’m so proud.

  6. notsont says

    It bugs me that we have to vote on peoples rights, I’m glad things seem to finally be going the right way, but it just seems wrong to be voting on who gets what rights and who doesn’t.

  7. David Wilford says

    I’d cut Rep. McNamar some slack on this issue, given that he beat his Republican opponent by just 1% in 2012 and that a majority of voters in his district voted for the (anti-same sex) marriage amendment. If McNamar is o.k. on other issues but has to duck and cover on this one, as long as a majority in the Minnesota House votes to make same-sex civil marriage legal, I’d certainly vote for him to help keep the Democrats in control of the Minnesota House.

  8. madknitter says

    This Massachusetts resident would love to welcome Minnesota into the 21st century!

  9. Becca Stareyes says

    What’s McNamar’s “rationale,” if that’s the correct word, for being undecided, I wonder?

    I assume that he has an opinion, but he worries that voicing it will cost him his seat.

  10. says

    Well Becca, that’s undoubtedly true, but it’s not very compelling. He does need to explain himself publicly somehow, and that doesn’t seem like it would go over very well.

  11. thumper1990 says

    @cervantes #1

    What’s McNamar’s “rationale,” if that’s the correct word, for being undecided, I wonder?

    “Hmm, are homosexuals objectively disordered sinners against God’s law whose deviance cannot be condoned lest we go the way of Sodom, or is it just the way some people happen to be and everyone deserves equal rights to happiness and social acceptance?

    I just can’t decide . . .”

    I imagine it’s more along the lines of “Hmm… *holds up finger* Which way’s the wind blowing? I just can’t tell…”.

  12. says

    Meanwhile, Catholic Bishops are still fighting on the losing side:


    The new letter from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will be distributed in church newsletters throughout May and June. In it, the bishops unsurprisingly state their support for the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, and call Catholics “to prayer, penance and sacrifice for the sake of renewing a culture of life, marriage and religious liberty.”

    In the letter, an organization comprised of nearly 500 unwed, celibate men goes to explain that “Marriage is the permanent and exclusive union of one man and one woman, for the good of the spouses and for the procreation and education of children. One man, one woman—for life.”…

    http://www.salon.com/2013/05/09/is_the_catholic_church_even_trying_to_make_sense_on_marriage_equality/

  13. qwerty says

    Yes, Lynna, I took my elderly mother to church on Sunday (I don’t stay as I no longer believe.) and the priest was reading an announcement from the Bishop asking good Catholics to call their senators and representatives to not let marriage be redefined.

    I so wanted to scream out a few four-letter Anglo-Saxon words, but I decided not to embarrass my mother.

  14. Shane Bowe says

    I emailed Roger Erickson and he’s a yes so I don’t even get to complain. Go Minnesota!

  15. mareap says

    Fortunately my state rep (DFL) and senator (R!!) are both on record as supporting the bills. I did drop them a note thanking them for their support.