AP Photo/Chris Gardner |
New York just passed its historic gay marriage law. Could Minnesota be next? Not if the Minnesota for Marriage Coalition has anything to do with it.
The coalition is a group of community and faith leaders and organizations in support of next year’s vote to preserve the definition of marriage as only one man and one woman in Minnesota’s constitution.
“This is exactly why we need the constitutional amendment to protect marriage in Minnesota,” says Jason Adkins of the Minnesota Catholic Conference and a member of the Minnesota for Marriage Coalition. “Marriage between one man and one woman has served mankind for all of recorded history as the building block of civilization and the best institution for children.”
As Adkins sees it, marriage has been radically redefined in New York, where gay marriage was imposed without a popular vote. Placing one-man, one-woman marriage in Minnesota’s Constitution, he says, ensures that only voters will ever be able to decide the meaning of marriage, not politicians.
“Those who opposed placing the amendment before the voters said it was unnecessary, but the activities in New York show differently,” says Chuck Darrell, director of communications of the Minnesota Family Council. “In fact, State Senator John Marty boasted that the Minnesota state legislature would force same-sex marriage on the people this year—just like in New York—without a vote of the people.”
The Minnesota legislature has determined to let the people decide the issue of marriage. Darrell says the Minnesota for Marriage Coalition is looking forward to a healthy debate on the amendment and trust the people of Minnesota to make the right decision on marriage in the state.
