Minn. considers marriage equality

A Minnesota House of Representatives committee heard three bills that addressed marriage rights for same-sex couples on Monday, Feb. 22.

One proposal included the creation of civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. Another purported to recognize same-sex marriages that had been performed in states in which it is legal (Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Iowa, and Washington D.C. beginning next month.)

Perhaps the most exciting bill, however, would remove gender-based terminology in the existing marriage statute, therefore making marriage equality perfectly legal. "I just want to personally state that I think allowing other people to get married poses absolutely no threat to my marriage," Rep. Phyllis Kahn (D-Minneapolis), who introduced the bill, told the committee. "The legislative session is probably a little more damaging."

Gay couple Chris and Ryan Dolan, who married in Toronto, were the first witnesses to speak before the committee about the benefits of marriage equality. They brought their adopted infant daughter Olivia with them to the hearing.

"I can't state this any clearer: the failure of this state to recognize our marriage is financially hurting our marriage," said Chris, a Minnesota attorney. "Why is the state of Minnesota making it more difficult for us to provide Olivia with a stable home?"

Offering a quite different opinion, Teresa Collett, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas, argued that marriage equality would damage society in eight specific ways, including retaliation against those who opposed same-sex marriage. "Make no mistake, marriage as a civil institution, as a legal institution, is grounded not merely in religion, but in the biological reality that sex makes children and children need a mom and a dad," she said.