Friday, May 17, 2013
The law's chief author, who represents Southwest Minneapolis, said many senators who wanted to be at the ceremony on the Minnesota Capitol steps could not.
Minnesota state Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) told the Minnesota Senate Wednesday of his disappointment that "the doors of this chamber were locked" Tuesday—preventing senators from attending the large crowd assembled on the Capitol steps for Gov. Mark Dayton's ceremonial signing of the bill Dibble introduced legalizing same-sex marriages in Minnesota. According to The UpTake, "Republican Senators used a rarely invoked rule to lock the doors of the Senate chamber to keep members inside as they debated the bill to allow unionization among certain workers." Related: Day Care Providers Rally as Minnesota Senate Approves Unionization Bill Excerpts from Dibble's remarks Wednesday night: "I want to thank everyone on all sides of the issue …
Monday, May 13, 2013
The bill will now move to the governor's desk to be signed into law.
After similar measures failed in past sessions, Sen. Scott Dibble's same-sex marriage bill was passed by the Senate in a 37-30 vote Monday afternoon. Dibble (D-61) and fellow Southwest Minneapolis Sen. Jeff Hayden (D-62) both entered yea votes Monday afternoon. Dibble, along with the bill's co-author Republican Sen. Branden Peterson and Reps. Karen Clark (DFL-62A) and Steve Simon (DFL-46B), introduced the bill back in February. The Minnesota House passed the measure last Thursday in a 75-59 vote. When the measure was introduced Monday, Dibble called it "a very simple bill," and added that "sometimes the simplest bills are the most powerful." Read: Dibble Introduces MN Same-Sex Marriage at MN Senate: 'A Very Simple Bill' Sen. Warren Limmer…
State Sen. Jeff Hayden, who represents parts of Southwest Minneapolis, compared prohibitions on gay marriage to past laws against interracial marriage.
Minnesota state Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis) had a message for opponents of the same-sex bill before the Minnesota Senate Monday: "It's going to be O.K." Hayden began his speech on the floor of the Senate by describing the comfort his two children had with same-sex couples, including those of several state legislators. "My children have been around [same-sex couples] their entire lives," he said. "That has enhanced their lives." Hayden referenced past laws against interracial marriages and said that had they been in effect, he wouldn't have his wife (who is white) or their two children. "We're at the end of the road," Hayden said. "Everything is going to be O.K. in Minnesota."
Southwest Minneapolis' state representative introduced his gay-marriage bill at the Minnesota Senate Monday.
Minnesota state Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) introduced his bill to legalize same-sex marriage Monday afternoon at the Minnesota Senate. Dibble called it "a very simple bill. ... Sometimes the simplest bills are the most powerful." After reading through the bill's language, substituting the version passed by the Minnesota House of Representatives on May 9, 2013, Dibble concluded by saying that the bill "is not as earth-shattering as folks might think." Patch will continue to update readers as Monday's debate continues.
The Senate approved the bill in a 37-30 vote Monday afternoon. The governor is scheduled to sign it into law at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
On the heels of the Minnesota House's approval last Thursday, the Senate also approved a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry Monday. Watch the debate in the video window above or at The UpTake. Related at Southwest Minneapolis Patch:
Friday, May 10, 2013
The next step is for the MN Senate to vote on the bill that State Sen. Scott Dibble, who represents Southwest Minneapolis, co-authored.
State Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) saluted the Minnesota House of Representatives' passage Thursday of same-sex marriage legislation. The Minnesota Senate will take up its version of the bill, introduced by Dibble, on Monday. Dibble said in a statement Thursday: "Today's historic vote by the Minnesota House of Representatives is a very large step toward the freedom to marry for Minnesotans. We have cleared one of the final obstacles on our journey toward greater equality. "We have arrived at this moment because regular, hard working people across the state have shown the courage to live with dignity, step forward and tell their stories, talk to their neighbors, and stand up for equality. We have engaged in a statewide conversation …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The bill is poised to move to the floors of the Minnesota House and Senate.
Update: The same-sex marriage bill passed the Minnesota Senate Finance Committee on a voice vote just after noon on Tuesday. Check above for a replay video. The Minnesota House of Representatives will vote on the bill on Thursday. Original post: Watch a video livestream of the Minnesota Senate Finance Committee Tuesday as the committee debates and votes on a bill that would make same-sex marriages legal in Minnesota. It is the up fourth item on the committee's Tuesday morning agenda. The video in the window above (or at The Uptake) will show first the Minnesota Senate Education Committee discussion of another bill addressing the problem of bullying.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
This is where you can find election results for local city council and legislative races and links to our separate election stories for county, judicial, constitutional amendments and national results.
Southwest Minneapolis' voters participated in an historic election on Tuesday. President Barack Obama was re-elected. Minnesota became the first state to reject a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and woman. Voters also stopped an amendment requiring voters show photo ID at the polls. The DFL took control of both houses of the state legislature. They even got to see Mayor RT Rybak crowd-surf at the official DFL election party in reaction to Obama's victory (See video at right). Initially, Southwest Minneapolis' high voter turnout caused long lines at some polling places, and a few ballot scanners had hiccoughs. As the night war on, voters waited on tenterhooks to find out how their community voted—many …
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Republican Kurt Bills faces off against incumbent DFL Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Name: Kurt Bills Age: 42 Place of residence : Rosemount, MN Attended college : Yes College : Winona State University Degree : B.S. in secondary social studies education, B.A. in US history Year of graduation : 1994 College : Winona State University Degree : M.A. in education Year of graduation : 2000 Job titles held : Economics teacher Employers : Rosemount High School Party affiliation : Republican Running for a: Federal office Running for position: United State Senator Chamber/district: State of Minnesota Incumbent: No Previous elective offices : Minnesota House of Representatives in 2010; Rosemount City Council in 2008 Website : http://kurtbills.com/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/KurtBills Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/kurtbills …
Monday, August 6, 2012
Republican Kurt Bills faces off against incumbent DFL Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Name: Kurt Bills Age: 42 Place of residence : Rosemount, MN Attended college : Yes College : Winona State University Degree : B.S. in secondary social studies education, B.A. in US history Year of graduation : 1994 College : Winona State University Degree : M.A. in education Year of graduation : 2000 Job titles held : Economics teacher Employers : Rosemount High School Party affiliation : Republican Running for a: Federal office Running for position: United State Senator Chamber/district: State of Minnesota Incumbent: No Previous elective offices : Minnesota House of Representatives in 2010; Rosemount City Council in 2008 Website : http://kurtbills.com/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/KurtBills Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/kurtbills …
Mike Hindin
11:15 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Thanks for great leadership Senator Dibble and best wishes I hope you have a public party to reaffirm your marriage in Minnesota as I would love to attend. So much was gained by affirming equal marriage rights. Minnesota is a better state and will become even better when there is a track record of marriages without any major disruptions and opponents learn to accept that their rights are … more ›