Politics & Government

UPDATED: Carlson Backs Same-Sex Marriage, But Another Local Legislator Says it's Divisive

Sen. Jim Carlson (DFL) told his fellow senators that his friendships with same-sex couples in Eagan have broadened his understanding and acceptance of the issue.

The love that committed same-sex couples share is "really no different than the love I have for my wife of 40 years," Eagan's District 51 Sen. Jim Carlson (DFL), told his fellow senators on Monday.

Carlson spoke on the Senate floor in favor of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage on Monday afternoon and, like other legislators, shared a very personal account of his acceptance of same-sex relationships.

The Senate, which took up the issue shortly after noon on Monday, voted 37-30 to approve the legislation after roughly four hours of spirited debate regarding personal and religious freedoms. The bill passed the Minnesota House on a 75-59 vote last week.

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Gov. Mark Dayton announced that he plans to sign the bill into law at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, paving the way for same-sex couples to be married starting Aug. 1.

Carlson, who voted in favor of the bill, began his testimony on the Senate floor on Monday by admitting that, as a young student decades ago, he had no knowledge of the gay community, and may have bullied classmates who seemed different. But over the years, Carlson met constituents, community members and neighbors that, one-by-one, broadened his understanding of same-sex relationships.

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Their love, and the love of other gay community members Carlson later met, have changed him from "advocate to activist," Carlson told the Senate.

But opinions were hardly uniform among Dakota County's legislative contingent.

Saying it would harm children and cause a rift in Minnesota's social fabric greater than anything since the American Civil War, Burnsville's District 56 Sen. Dan Hall (R) voiced his strong opposition to the bill, which was authored by District 61 Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL).

"They’ll call me a bigot, they’ll call me a hater, they’ll spit in my face, like they did a friend of mine last Thursday," Hall said during a presentation given before the Senate. "[But] there are things in life, members, that are worth standing up for, even to be persecuted for.

"Freedom can only be free if we keep our moral compass. If we resolve to strengthen marriage instead of dismantling it. Without strong morals, that which we believe is right or wrong, we lose our freedoms," Hall added.

Click here to read Hall's full testimony.

District 57 Sen. Greg Clausen (DFL), who represents Apple Valley and Rosemount, weighed the roughly 500 emails and 300 phone calls he received from constituents when deciding to support the bill.

But key to his decision were two more personal experiences, he said.

When Clausen was leading a school in Rosemount, one of school's top students, following her graduation, sent a letter to Clausen saying she was gay. The letter detailed how she'd personally struggled with her own feelings on the subject.

That and the death in Afghanistan of Rosemount soldier Andrew Wilfahrt, who was gay, have played a significant role in Clausen's own thinking on the subject or same-sex marriage, he said.

"It’s been characterized as the civil rights issue of the decade, and I do believe that," Clausen said.

How do you feel about the Senate's decision or your Senator's stance? Leave a reply in our comment stream below.


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