Minnesota Less Than 24 Hours From Becoming 12th State to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/13/18228931-minnesota-senate-passes-same-sex-marriage-bill

The Minnesota Senate gave final approval on Monday to a bill that will make the state the 12th in the United States to allow same-sex couples to marry and only the second in the Midwest.
The majority Democrat state Senate voted 37-30 to approve the bill legalizing gay marriage, putting Minnesota on the verge of becoming the third state in the nation to approve same-sex nuptials in May after Rhode Island and Delaware.
The state House approved the measure last week.
Democratic Governor Mark Dayton has said he will sign the bill on Tuesday. The law would take effect August 1.

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So basically, we here in Minnesota are about to legalize gay marriage just 6 months after striking down a proposed constitutional amendment that would have banned it outright via the state constitution (it was already outlawed by state statute at the time through numerous statutes). This puts Minnesota one step closer to being a total legal safe-haven for the LGBT community, with the few remaining steps including officially repealing the sodomy laws (which, despite being struck down by courts, have yet to actually be repealed) and declaring in state statute that same-sex couples can legally adopt children together instead of the current status where it isn't explicitly stated either way.

Could this mean a change in the status of gay marriage in Wisconsin is on the horizon if Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Republicans are voted out of their majority in 2014? Two of their 4 neighbors have legalized same sex marriage and a third is considering legalizing it. At the very least, I hope it leads to a repeal of the constitutional ban Wisconsin has on same-sex marriage (it's a bit odd there, where they recognize some same-sex unions, but marriage is banned by the state constitution).

What states do you think are next to legalize same sex marriage?

maybe this will mean Bachmann will flee the state to Montana and she'll no longer be my representative effective immediately!

Well done, Minnesota.

Who's next? I'd like to see the next state be a red state, or at least a purple state, but it'll probably be another blue state. It's hard to say how things will play out though since we've got that Supreme Court ruling expected next month on California's Prop 8 and DOMA. For all we know, there could be a lot of bans overturned. I'm pretty hopeful Prop 8 is going to be history regardless of what else happens so I expect the next state to legalize will be California (again).

Scarf said:

Well done, Minnesota.

Who's next? I'd like to see the next state be a red state, or at least a purple state, but it'll probably be another blue state. It's hard to say how things will play out though since we've got that Supreme Court ruling expected next month on California's Prop 8 and DOMA. For all we know, there could be a lot of bans overturned. I'm pretty hopeful Prop 8 is going to be history regardless of what else happens so I expect the next state to legalize will be California (again).

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Iowa and New Hampshire are purples states in the Presidential elections, but judging a state as being liberal or conservative solely based on how it votes in presidential elections is fallacious

Also, I guess that "Minnesota nice" isn't dead after all.

Nice to see another state allowing gay marriage. I hope more will follow eventually.

The best bet is the S.C. cases pending judgment in the next month or two. If the Court decision in the Windsor case decide LGBT rights fall under strict scrutiny, then same sex marriage state laws will likely be unconstitutional for breach of equal protection clause given that least restrictive means is not being employed by banning gay marriages. Though, this one will be a nail biter!! I am guessing a 5-4 against DOMA's constitutionality. Thus, it is plausible that anti-same-sex marriage laws will be unlawful in the coming months, but that is assuming that state laws regarding same sex marriages are included in the decision, and that the decision is in opposition of DOMA.

Prediction: upholding DOMA
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/03/27/supreme-court-doma-gay-marriage/2023091/

Prediction: DOMA unconstitutional
http://westlawinsider.com/top-legal...-same-sex-marriage-cases-post-oral-arguments/