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State Senator Mary Jo McGuire District 66 23 State Office Bldg. 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. St. Paul, MN 55155-1206 Telephone (651) 296-5537 Use Mail Form |
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| GOP Votes Down McGuire Proposal to Strike Gay Marriage Question from Ballot | ||||||||||||
Earlier today, Republicans on the Senate Local Government and Elections Committee voted down a proposal that would have stricken Minnesota’s anti-marriage constitutional amendment from the November ballot. The proposal was offered by State Sen. Mary Jo McGuire, DFL-St. Paul, as an amendment to another GOP-backed constitutional amendment that would require voters to show photo identification to vote. The amendment failed on a 6-8 party line vote.
In response to the Republican’s refusal to repeal the anti-marriage amendment, Sen. McGuire issued the following statement:
“This fall, Minnesota voters will be asked whether we should amend our state’s constitution to ban marriage for loving, caring and committed same-sex couples. Leading up to the election, Minnesota families will be subjected to a negative and expensive campaign that threatens to marginalize one group of people and deeply divide our state. I believe it is in the best interest of Minnesota, our citizens and our business community to repeal this damaging amendment, and I am deeply disappointed that Republicans refuse to undo their terrible mistake.
When I was elected to the Minnesota Senate last year, I spoke with thousands of voters throughout my district about the issues that matter most to them. What do Minnesotans care about? Almost to a person, the top issues were jobs and the economy. Those are the issues we should be focused on. Unfortunately, Democrats are being forced to play goalie against Republican lawmakers who want to rewrite the state’s constitution to read like the Republican Party’s platform.
The anti-marriage amendment doesn’t help a single family in Minnesota, it doesn’t create a single job, and it actually harms our state’s economy. Minnesota’s economic success has always relied on our world-class workforce. This amendment would make it harder for Minnesota companies to retain and attract top talent from across the globe. As economist Richard Florida said, passing this amendment in Minnesota would be equivalent of hanging a sign on our state’s borders reading: ‘Closed for business. Innovators stay out.’
I believe that when I was elected, it became my responsibility to preserve the rights of citizens, not deny them. Writing discrimination into the state’s constitution is a terrible mistake that will simply divide our state and hurt our economic competiveness. I urge Republicans to do what is best for our state and economy by taking this dangerous and divisive amendment off the November ballot.”
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