Same-sex marriage in Minnesota
Minnesota was the second state in the Midwest, after Iowa, to legalize marriage between same-sex couples,[1] and the first in the region to do so by enacting legislation rather than by court order.
"[7] In early 1971, the couple in question, Michael McConnell and Jack Baker, re-applied in Blue Earth County and obtained a marriage license.
Reverend Roger Lynn, a minister from the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, conducted the ceremony at a private home.
Marry Me Minnesota, founded by same-sex couples for the purpose of suing the state, announced plans to appeal the decision.
On May 11, 2011, the Minnesota Senate passed a bill by 37 votes to 27 to place a proposed amendment to the State Constitution on the ballot that would ban same-sex marriage, though not civil unions.
Its authors were senators Scott Dibble, Linda Higgins, John Marty, Mee Moua, and Patricia Torres Ray.
In December 2012, Representative Alice Hausman and Senator Marty announced plans to introduce same-sex marriage legislation in 2013.
[22] In January 2013, Senator Dibble said Democrats planned to focus early in the session on "kitchen-table issues" of improving the economy and creating jobs and would wait at least a month or two before pressing for the legalization of same-sex marriage.
[29] Governor Mark Dayton signed the bill into law on May 14, 2013 on the south steps of the Minnesota State Capitol before a crowd of 6,000 people.
[38] While there are no records of same-sex marriages as understood from a Western perspective being performed in Native American cultures, there is evidence for identities and behaviours that may be placed on the LGBT spectrum.
Many of these cultures recognized two-spirit individuals who were born male but wore women's clothing and performed everyday household work and artistic handiwork which were regarded as belonging to the feminine sphere.
[42] Approximately 1,640 same-sex couples married in Minnesota from August to September 2013, representing about one-third of all marriages performed during that time.
[45] Eighteen cities in Minnesota, covering a total population of more than one million, have domestic partnership registries allowing unmarried same-sex and opposite-sex couples the right to obtain a certificate signifying that they are not related by blood and are committed to each other.
[46][47] Minneapolis was the first city to establish a domestic partnership registry in the state in 1991, followed by Duluth (2009),[48] St. Paul (2009),[49] Edina (2010),[50] Rochester (2010),[51] Maplewood (2010),[52] Golden Valley (2010),[53] St. Louis Park (2011),[54] Red Wing (2011),[55] Richfield (2011),[56] Shoreview (2011),[57] Robbinsdale (2011), Falcon Heights (2011),[58] Hopkins (2011), Shorewood (2011),[59] Crystal (2011), Eagan (2012),[60] and Eden Prairie (2012).
