Transcripts

SPEAKER: With Minnesota now poised to become the 12th state to legalize same-sex marriage, it's worth pausing a moment to consider how we got here. It was just two years ago that Republicans who then controlled the legislature thought it would help them politically to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would ban gay marriage. It's been a quick turnaround from then until now, as Tom Scheck reports.

TOM SCHECK: After yesterday's vote, same-sex marriage supporters inside the Capitol erupted with joy. But for years, one man stood silently outside of the House and Senate nearly every day holding a sign encouraging lawmakers to recognize his marriage.

DOUG BENSON: It says, "Marriage equality this year." But then Senator Marty came up the stairs this morning and he shook my hand and said, "You should change that to this week." So--

TOM SCHECK: Doug Benson of Robbinsdale has been at the Capitol since 2007, either asking lawmakers to defeat a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage or encouraging them to legalize it. After six years, Benson says he's feeling a sense of relief.

DOUG BENSON: When this passes, it's going to be like such an important lift for so many people in the state, not just the couples that can get married, not just the couples that are already married from other jurisdictions that will have their marriages recognized, but also the kids, the ones that are killing themselves because they think they have no future because they're gay.

TOM SCHECK: Benson says he got married to his husband in Canada in 2003. He says they've been together for 22 years. If the bill becomes law as of August 1st, Minnesota will allow same-sex couples to get married. The law will also recognize Benson's marriage and those of other same-sex couples who were married in other countries or states.

That list includes DFL Senator Scott Dibble of Minneapolis. He married his husband in California a few years ago. Since Dibble was elected in 2000, he's worked to defeat the constitutional ban and to pass the same-sex marriage bill.

SCOTT DIBB;LE: This is a long-term process of building a movement and bringing people along on the process of change. And so it's been a difficult journey, and it's been very emotional, but it's been exhilarating and thrilling and very rewarding all at the same time because you see slowly people's hearts open up. And it's been really affirming.

TOM SCHECK: Dibble Will steer the same sex marriage bill through the Senate. He'll also be there when Governor Dayton signs it. With that signature, Minnesota will become the 12th state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

It will also be the first state in the Midwest to pass it through the legislative process. Iowa's Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2009. Richard Carlbom, with the pro same-sex marriage group Minnesotans United, said Minnesota is unique. It's the first state to defeat a ban on same sex marriage and is now on the cusp of passing a bill that legalizes it.

RICHARD CARLBOM: Folks in the Midwest are pragmatic, and they want to make sure that the decision being made is a decision that will be proud of for the next 100 years. And I think people today are realizing that the decision being made and in this legislature is one that is historic and will never be forgotten.

TOM SCHECK: And while some say the bill is a long time coming, others worry it's happening too quickly. On the House floor yesterday, Republican House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt said there isn't consensus on same-sex marriage.

KURT DAUDT: Minnesota is still divided on this issue. Hearts and minds may be changing, but Minnesota is still divided. Now is not the time.

TOM SCHECK: Opponents of same-sex marriage who were confident that voters would side with them in November now have to watch as lawmakers move to legalize it. Autumn Leva with Minnesota for Marriage doesn't think the public has changed its mind on same-sex marriage. Instead, she says, many lawmakers, especially rural democrats, voted for the bill even though their constituents wanted the ban just six months ago.

AUTUMN LEVA: I think that does not show a shift in public opinion, but rather legislators bowing to political pressure instead of to what their constituents want and what may be best for Minnesota.

TOM SCHECK: It's not clear whether those constituents head to the polls in 2014 with gay marriage as the top issue on their minds. Same-sex marriage backers predict most Minnesotans will move on from the issue over time. Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio News at the Capitol.