Minnesota was the 12th state to legalize marriage for same-sex couples. Governor Mark Dayton passed the bill into law on May 14, 2013. The Senate supported the bill as well and approved it the day before the Governor signed it. Earlier in the week, the bill also successfully passed through the House.
August 1st was a joyous day for Minnesota gay marriage supporters and for those who sought to have a legal wedding, since it was the first day that homosexual couples were permitted to be officially wed.
Several months prior to that, popular vote shot down an anti-gay amendment that threatened marriage itself on November 6, 2012. Consequentially, Minnesota became the first state to vote down an amendment that was against marriage. The amendment sparked concern among residents, causing them to start talking about marriage rights.
Bills concerning marriage were presented to the Minnesota House of Representatives and the state Senate in February 2013. By March, both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Civil Law Committee proposed that the bill be moved to the full floor. The Minnesota House voted 75-59 that Minnesota gay marriage should be legal on May 9.
Here are the groups that actively worked to achieve legalization:
• Minnesotans United for All Families, a group of organizations that banned together to overturn the amendment that restricted marital rights and prohibited marital equality
• Freedom to Marry, a national campaign that prioritizes that right to marry for all devoted couples
• Outfront Minnesota, a group that focused on marriage in Minnesota for several years
• Project 515, a group that fought to gain equal rights for couples of the same sex
The majority of residents approve of Minnesota gay marriage. 51% of survey participants are in favor of gay marriage in Minnesota. 47% of participants made up the minority that did not believe in giving homosexual couples the right of marriage.
As of 2010, there were 10,207 gay couples residing in the state.
