Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin said Thursday efforts by Sen. Paul Gazelka, R-Brainerd, to place a constitutional amendment that would define marriage on the ballot are a distraction and duplicative.
“We already have a law on the books (defining marriage),” he said. “I’m not a big fan of enshrining discrimination in the state Constitution.”
Martin said most people, particularly in areas with high unemployment such as Brainerd, care about jobs and home foreclosures and not divisive social issues.
“That (unemployment) should be our first focus,” he said.
Gazelka said in a phone interview from St. Paul that for thousands of years marriage has been defined as between a man and a woman and it’s only in recent years that activist judges have thrown out laws that were on the books. He said Martin’s comments about what priorities should be were disingenuous.
“We deal with more than 1,000 bills in a session,” Gazelka said. “We’ve been working on the budget since January. We’re now into April and dealing with some of the other policy issues, one of them being this issue. It is an issue people want to weigh in on. The polls that we’ve taken show that over 75 percent of the people of Minnesota want the opportunity to vote on this. That doesn’t mean they will vote for it but they think it should be a decision made by the people of Minnesota.
“If the choice is between the people and activist judges or a body of legislators, I think the people can make the best decision on this.”
Martin was touring 8th Congressional District communities Thursday talking to media outlets and meeting with Democrats.
He said people in the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community should have the right to marry and that it was a human rights issue.
“Our party supports marriage equality,” Martin said.
Martin, who grew up in Eden Prairie, worked on Paul Wellstone’s U.S. Senate campaign; worked to elect a DFL governor as executive director of WIN Minnesota; and was director of Gov. Mark Dayton’s recount effort. He ran the Vote Yes campaign to pass the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. He has been a member of the DFL Party State Executive Committee, the Budget Committee and other party offices since 1997.
Turning to DFL efforts to win back the 8th Congressional District seat Republican Chip Cravaack won in 2010, Martin said he would like to avoid a primary battle by getting DFL candidates to pledge to abide by the endorsement. He also would like to find a way to coalesce around a candidate as early as possible. While the 8th District may not be as Democratic as it was in past years he said it still has among the highest Democratic numbers of any seat held by a first-term Republican.
“We don’t want to give Chip Cravaack any opening to win this thing,” Martin said.
MIKE O’ROURKE may be reached at mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5860.
Comments (21)
Add commentMr. Martin-- How do you
Mr. Martin-- How do you define marriage exactly worded please. I don't want to hear some ambigous supposed objective view.. Write in the exact words you would like to see in the new constitution..
By the way, I man in WI is trying to marry his cow and another his cat, so it needs to be exact as they are waiting for the law to be changed soon.. I suppose there's some people that would like to have a few partners, so make it explicitly clear please.
I think Chips attempt to
I think Chips attempt to destroy Medicare with underfunded vouchers will be the end of his political career.
The vouchers would be further devalued by moving to a system that wastes up to 30% of the value in paper shuffling.
bad argument and really sick
the argument that if we give gay people any kind of relationship equality that people will want to marry their animals, that's really sick....
comparing homosexuality with beastiality. Grow Up.
Who are the real activist judges?
Perhaps those who for over 200 years have distorted the Constitution to allow discrimination of all types...
Does Sen Gazelka wish he were in the 1950's??
Marriage has not remained the same for "thousands of years". Marriage has changed over time and has changed dramatically in the most recent fifty years.
Today in the United States, most marriages are between SOUL MATES.
Some examples of past traditions with marriage that are no longer popular are:
- Arranged Marriages
- Remarriage of widows to their husband's male relative
- Marriages of Convenience, for building family and state relationships
- Multiple spouses
- Women as chattel
- Women to be purchased, bride prices, dowrys
- Women to not have their own property or their own credit
- Women fired from their jobs when they became married
- Women not having a separate identity; remember the society pages referring to Mrs. Robert Smith.
Even the Bible has a variety of marriage examples.
Senator Gazelka appears to be out of touch with his Bible, with history and with the real world.
organized religion
Once again an attempt by a church fanatic trying to pass laws that provokes hate and division among the people. Organized religion will definately contribute to the downfall of the human race !
That's odd...
considering that organized religion has been around since the beginning of mankind.
Organized Religion
How sad tripwire3 missed science class and now believes in
Creationism
some day humanity will look back
and see the discrimination against the gay community just as they do oppressive slavery, how we treated Native Americans and yes, even women (who were not allowed to vote until they rebelled!)
None of this is 'okay' - especially if done by right wing fundamentalists. WWJD?
Organized religion
How sad drdumb has been around since the beginning of time to witness the evolution of religious thought.
Our state has bigger worries
Our state has bigger worries in the forefront. Who cares about the marriage issue right now. If two people are crazy in love, who are we to judge? This is one of the reasons that the seperation of church and state is a good idea. Give the church a little rope, and next thing you know...we have another "inquisition". Why can't we learn from History? Remember "holy-er than thou-s...are you really ready to "cast the first stone?"
Oldie
Actually I don't think we have much to fear from religion. Evangelicalism, as we know it from the 80's and 90's is waning in its political influence. As I implied to drdpmd, religion has been around since recorded time and it hasn't destroyed us yet. But then, not being a historian, perhaps he could give us an example of a civilization that fizzled primarily because of religious influence.
And I really don't think Gazelka believes that he is holier than anyone else. I suppose you could ask him. Now, if you want to talk about judgment, ask some on this board if we should judge wealthy CEO's or Tea Partiers or Sarah Palin. As a society, we have to make some kind of judgments.....unless we want to devolve into chaos.
the key word is
the key word is "yet"...religion hasn't destroyed us....yet...
Minn. Senate committee passes gay marriage ban
Praise The Lord!
hmmm, here is a thought....
Websters,Definition of Marriage;
(1) : the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2) : the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage.
If Gays want to be joined into a lifetime commitment maybe they can find another word.
Marriage has already been defined.
Calling a cat a dog does NOT make the cat a dog....
4TGOG
Yes, it is defined by Webster right there. Definition 2. Thanks for verifying that.
like that of a traditional marriage.
like that of a traditional marriage. Alot of snakes look like each other, some are just more poisinous than others...
same sex is not a marriage.
Definition 2 states that.
I do believe that when this is put on the ballot you will find out just how important this is to the people of Minnesota.
The state of our economy is valid, however it does not make all other issues invalid.
Fighting for rights is not new
African Americans had to fight for their rights and that was a tough fight for over a hundred years. Women had to fight for their rights and that took time as well. Now people who seek to be allowed to join in a civil union with another also have to fight for their rights as well. In the end, they are going to win because it is a just issue. And to those who fear this, open your hearts and clear the cobwebs from your eyes. Nothing can stop Truth; it may be slow but it is tenacious and it will always win.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35
Nothing can stop Truth
And the same Truth also said......
.....a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Matthew 19:5-6
Interpretation
@ klauck - Pick and choose as you will, you cannot stop what is right no matter how hard you try. Slavery is condoned in the Bible but that doesn't mean it is accepted today. The Old Testament also declares how you are to perform sacrifices, are you doing that? Nope, the Old Testament may be a guide but you are better off letting God be the judge, as Jesus as stated we should. Intolerance ought to be left for things that cause misery and pain. People who are only seeking legal benefits should be allowed to do so.
I am a resident of Brainerd -
I am a resident of Brainerd and I am as interested in the definition of marriage as I am in the unemployment rate! I support Gazelka and all that he is doing for our community! One man/one woman "'till death do us part!!" Keep at it Paul!!