Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota

Tonight at 6:45pm, May 1,  the Golden Valley City Council voted to pass a resolution opposing the “Marriage Amendment” to the MN constitution which seeks to effectively ban same-sex marriage in the state. The resolution states “the proposed amendment would be contrary to the purpose of our State Constitution to protect the rights, privileges and freedom of conscience of all citizens by withholding from some individuals and families important legal rights and obligations”. With a vote of 4 yeses and 1 abstention, the resolution passed making Golden Valley the 7th city in MN to take a public position on the amendment.

Mayor Shep Harris acknowledged the Minnesota Chapter of LCR for our letter of support for the resolution and for attending the meeting. He thanked us for providing a viewpoint that made him feel more comfortable about his vote. 

Council member Mike Freiberg, who proposed the resolution, gave a speech in which he acknowledged that the council members are sworn to uphold the constitution, but above all, they are a body that must stand by what is right, and that includes accepting all of their citizens and supporting their freedoms. Council member Freiberg echoed Mayor Harris by pointing out that Golden Valley has the largest GLBT population for a city that size in the state and that the council should support all families. Council member Dede Scanlon abstained from voting and made it a point to say the council should not take a position.

The letter of support presented to the council is below:

We are writing to you to ask your support of a resolution placed before the Golden Valley City Council, opposing the MN constitutional Marriage Amendment banning same sex marriage. Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota is comprised of Republicans who support the equal treatment for gays and lesbians, and works to build bridges and coalitions between the Party and GLBT conservatives.

We understand that on Tuesday May 1, 2012, the Golden Valley City Council may take a position against the so-called Minnesota Marriage Amendment that will be on the General Election Ballot in November.  We applaud your support because, as Republicans, we think that the Amendment is a hurtful and harmful misuse of the Minnesota Constitution.

As conservatives we advocate for individual responsibility and freedom and a smaller government, which allows for people to make their own personal choices and maintain more control over their own lives.  We believe that the best social welfare program is a strong and supportive family structure.  We do not support an Amendment that says that some people will not be allowed to form a family, or that their family will not be deemed valid by the State.  This would be hypocritical, unfair, and cruel.  A position of banning same sex marriage is counterproductive for society, which has proven to benefit greatly from allowing and encouraging all of its members to make mutual long-term stable commitments.

The history of the previously proposed Defense of Marriage Amendments in MN indicates that its supporters do want to prevent cities from offering domestic partnership status (currently offered in Golden Valley) and domestic partner benefits to its employees who are in same sex relationships.  Previous versions of the Amendment have explicitly forbid any “legal equivalents” to marriage, such as domestic partnerships and civil unions.  We believe that the supporters of this current amendment strategically lowered their objectives to get it passed, and that they will continue to seek bans on domestic unions.  This would ultimately infringe on the right and prerogative of the City of Golden Valley to have the choice to someday provide such benefits to its own employees and manage its own workforce. As a city council, your role is to set policies that encourage a healthy business and work climate, safe neighborhoods, and a welcoming environment for all of your citizens. Some argue that it is not the City’s place to take a stand on this Amendment, but to the contrary, it is the City’s place (and the intent of the State Constitution) to expand and protect rights, privileges, and freedoms for all of its citizens, not to withhold or constrict very important legal rights from some individuals and families.

We hope you will decide to come out against this Amendment.  With the support of fair-minded people, organizations and governments throughout the state, hopefully we will be able to ensure that Minnesota becomes a more tolerant and accepting state that encourages loving commitments for all of its residents.

We thank the council for their time and efforts and for supporting the citizens of their community!

February 7th is fast approaching. As many folks are buzzing about the caucuses, the main focus most people have is on the GOP presidential candidate nominee and which one will address the issues that concern them the most as Republicans, conservatives, or whatever political label they choose to identify themselves with. What’s your issue? Government spending? Budget cuts? Preemptive war? Inconsistent foreign policy? Education? Imposing Theocracy?

Whatever your issue(s) may be, it is important to remember that the principles our state party stands for are as important as the ultimate winner of the presidential nomination. It is no secret that our party platform has become burdensome and overloaded with a hodge podge of special interest driven detail that essentially creates a litmus test nearly impossible for someone to pass and even harder to avoid contradiction.

Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota is a firm believer in strong conservative values, which is why we are supporting the following resolution to Plank 4 and would appreciate your support in presenting this resolution at your caucuses.

Under Strengthening Families and Communities (plank 4)

Here is the text location -

Preamble:

Strengthen our Families and Communities

We recognize the blessings that God has bestowed on this great Nation. We also recognize the sanctity of human life and the central role of the traditional family in our society.
We work to defend those values in order to strengthen our families and communities.

 Plank:

Section 4 – Strengthen our Families and Communities

We recognize the blessings that God has bestowed on this great Nation. We also recognize the sanctity of human life and the central role of the traditional family in our society.
We work to defend those values in order to strengthen our families and communities.

Protect our Families and Children

As Republicans, we believe in the sanctity of human life and marriage, and the central role of the traditional family in our society. In order to protect our families and communities, we need to change laws regarding marriage, divorce, adoption, child support, welfare, taxes and others. Minnesota’s laws governing marriage should be amended to offer a ‘Covenant Marriage’ option, entailing extensive premarital counseling and limits on divorce. Grandparents and other relatives should be the first option when children cannot live with their parents. Racial preference is wrong; in cases of adoption, Minnesota should make it easier and less costly for a traditional married couple to adopt a child of any race. In child custody cases, privileges of the father should be restored to comply with the 14th Amendment.

We support restricting the production, sale and promotion of vulgar and obscene material, especially to children, and believe that pornography-blocking software should be installed on all computers with internet access in publicly financed institutions.

Defend the Definition of Marriage

We believe that marriage is between one man and one woman, and that the U.S. Constitution and the Minnesota constitution should be amended to this effect.
We oppose civil unions or their legal equivalents between same-sex couples and therefore, domestic partner benefits should not be publicly funded.

We feel that burdening the state party platform with terms like “traditional”,  unjustly promotes an idealistic and impractical assumption that the party does not appreciate or respect any family that does not fit within a specific mold. Even the terms “traditional marriage” , “traditional family”, etc have evolved from their original definitions. As Republicans and conservatives, we believe in and support strong families.. period. Neither the Republican party nor the government should be in the business of telling any one of us what our family should look like in order to be valid.

Additionally, we do not feel it is in the best interest of the state party or the government to dictate who should be allowed to wed. Government should not be in the business of mandating and controlling marriage. Its obligation is to enforce contracts between consenting adults. Therefore we support removing language in the platform supporting constitutional bans preventing two consenting adults who wish to legally contract to marry. This should be left up to the individuals, their families, and their churches to decide.  Should future generations in Minnesota decide to allow legal contracts between two same sex consenting adults, the legislature should be capable of adjusting the laws responsibly to accommodate the will of the people without facing constitution restraint. This is not the intent of the state constitution and is not a Republican position.

We appreciate your support as we continue to educate people and improve our party.

Follow-us: Twitter @mnlogcabin   Facebook:  Minnesota Log Cabin Republicans    on the web: www.mnlogcabin.org

This is your chance to thank Reps. Kriesel, Kelly, Murray and Smith for their couragous vote against putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot which will divide Minnesotans and distract from the important issues Republicans were elected to address. Let them know you appreciate their vote, and that because they stood by us, we’ll stand by them. Representative Kriesel was right – Minnesota has their backs!

On May 21, 2011, four Republican leaders took a stand for freedom and fairness by voting against putting the marriage amendment on the ballot. Join Log Cabin Republicans in thanking our champions today! Representatives John Kriesel, Tim Kelly, Rich Murray and Steve Smith represent a stronger, more inclusive GOP that we can all be proud of.

Click here to go to our action center to send a thank you note  Representatives Kriesel, Kelly, Murray and Smith.

In a follow up to our last post, we offer another salute to Representative Tim Kelly, a GOP Representative who also voted against the Marriage Amendment. Below is his rousing and passionate speech against discrimination and for equality.