Marriage Equality Day at the Capitol!

This post will probably be full of exclamation marks! Because I am SO! EXCITED! AND HAPPY!!!!

Last November, you may remember, we here in Minnesota had two ugly Constitutional amendments on our ballot. One was to require voter ID at the polls, and the other was to prohibit same-sex marriage. This anti-marriage amendment created a groundswell of grassroots activism for its defeat. But once the amendment (both amendments, actually!) was defeated, the thought became, "why stop here? why not change the statute?"

As it currently stands, marriage in Minnesota is defined by Minn. Stat. 517.01, which states in part:

Marriage . . . is a civil contract between a man and a woman . . . . Lawful marriage may only be contracted between persons of the opposite sex and only when a license has been obtained as provided by law . . . .

In the current session, a bill was introduced to change that to read:

A civil marriage . . . is a civil contract between two persons . . . .  Lawful marriage may only be contracted when a license has been obtained as provided by law . . . .

It's a small change, but it makes a BIG difference!

Last week, the bill passed the House of Representatives and headed to the Senate. With a pro-marriage DFL majority, passage was as certain as anything in politics can be. So Maisie and I took the day off from our respective school/work obligations, and headed with Ella to the Capitol, to join the celebration.



It was a beautiful day, too - sunny and not too hot!

 We got there around 10:00 a.m. I thought we'd be on the early side - the Senate wasn't convening until noon! - but the party was already in full swing! At this point, I'd guess that the pro-marriage equality "Vote Yes!" folks outnumbered the "Vote No" people by 2:1 or 3:1. It was the highest proportion we'd see all day. (If you can't read the signs in these pictures, the marriage equality people were either wearing orange and blue or rainbow colors. "Vote No" was in pink.)

We met up with my college friend Jo and her older son Tristan, who was carrying a sign he made that said "VOTE YES so that my moms can get married!" We hung out on the steps, checked out people's signs, petted some cute dogs... it was a friendly and relaxed crowd, for the most part.

We had to get off the Capitol steps by 11, because another group had them reserved (Falun Gong, as it turns out). So after a quick peek at the crowd that was gathering in the Capitol rotunda...


hmmm, that's not too crowded...

 ..we headed off to visit the office of our senator, Patricia Torres Ray.
 

Senator Torres Ray wasn't in the office, but we were pretty clear about where she stood on the issue. :) She even had a little snack station set up in her office! The girls picked up some cookies for themselves and for Tristan. They are now huge fans of Senator Torres Ray. Thanks for the Oreos!!


Hm, starting to get a little more crowded...

After a brief lunch break/potty stop at my mom's nearby apartment, we headed back to the Capitol for the long haul. By now, the Senate had convened and all we had to do was wait. We hung out, sang songs... and waited.



Singing "This Land Is Your Land" - probably 5:1 "Vote Yes"

 As you can see, the place was really filling up! And it was getting hot and stuffy in there, too. It's a huge building with a huge open space, but the sheer numbers of people there really managed to warm it up.

Speaking of people, we saw a lot of folks there who we knew! I said hi to friends Brian & Geri, Carleton classmates Bruce, Willy, and Kacia, multiple neighborhood moms with their kids, and Legal Aid director Cathy Haukedahl. I also saw a law school prof (but didn't say hi), and I know there were a bunch of other folks there who I know but didn't manage to run into.

The girls started to get a little antsy and asked to head back to "our Senator's office... you know, with the cookies?"



She changed her door sign.

Sadly, the cookies were all gone! But a television was on in her office, showing the debate, and bunch of people were in there watching. I wanted to watch, so we sat for a minute. The girls complained (quietly) about the lack of cookies until one of her staffers brought them some Dove chocolates.

 I was watching the discussion when I heard Maisie say, "Oh, Ella." I looked over to see Ellie playing with her chocolate, rolling it around in her hands.

After a bathroom stop for washing up, we took a peek at the growing crowd....
 

Pretty much entirely "vote yes!"

  And found Tristan and Jo again.

Tristan and the girls hung out, drew and colored...

Watched the crowd, and sang songs.

We ended up leaving around 3:30. It had been a long day, and the debate was still ongoing. We'd hoped to stay for the whole thing, but the kids were pretty much done (and to be honest, so were we). So we all headed home, listening to the discussion on MPR the whole way.

It finally headed for a vote after we'd gotten home, and we all heard that it passed around 4:30. Tears were shed and all my social media outlets simultaneously went "Woo hoo!" :) And so Minnesota became the 12th state to pass marriage equality. Yes Iowa, you got there first. But we finally caught up! On July 1, marriage licenses will be issued to same-sex couples, and on August 1, those couples will be able to get married.

Governor Mark Dayton has scheduled a signing ceremony for 5:00 this afternoon. We won't be able to attend (ukelele class conflict!), but I'm so glad that we went to the Capitol yesterday. I feel so strongly about the importance of this - I've heard it said multiple times that gay rights are the civil rights movement of our times, and I believe that to be true, and I'm so glad that the girls were able to witness all the love and support behind this movement. People in same-sex relationships, and their children, can now have the same legal protections as Aaron and I do, and as Maisie and Ella. Inheritance rights, tax breaks, medical decision-making... there are so many rights conferred by marriage that can't be won any other way. And not only that, it's a recognition of legitimacy and validation.

I'm so proud to be a Minnesotan most of the time. But yesterday and today, SO much!