25 February 2009 Minneapolis, MN
Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota knows Sen. Paul Koering to be a respected and hard- working legislator, a strong advocate for his constituents, and a highly caring individual.
That being said, we disagree with Sen. Koering’s reported position in opposition to S.F. 120, the Marriage and Family Protection Act. Full equality for gays and lesbians, including civil marriage rights, is consistent with Log Cabin’s core conservative beliefs of limited government, individual liberty and individual responsibility, and strong, stable families. We are committed to working with Republican elected officials, including Sen. Koering, to increase their understanding of the inequalities that gays and lesbians face every day in Minnesota and the legal barriers to building and sustaining strong committed relationships in their lives. We are confident that through constructive discussions we will win over the hearts and minds of these elected officials, as well as those in our communities.
We also believe that the focus on Sen. Koering’s comments is both disproportionate and highly misplaced. While we believe that a bipartisan approach is the best path towards fairness and equality, the fact of the matter is that S.F. 120 could be passed in both the Senate and the House without a single Republican vote, and a veto overridden in the Senate without Sen.
Koering’s or any other Republican’s vote. In the House, a veto override would require the support of three Republicans with whom we look forward to convincing and working with to eliminate this government-sponsored discrimination. Unfortunately, DFL leadership is actively working to prevent this bill from coming to the floor for a vote. It is neither Senator Koering,
nor the Republican Party, who is currently standing in the way of this legislation coming to fruition. Fair minded citizens of all political parties should hold the current majority accountable for walking the talk on civil marriage equality.
Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota promotes legislation to provide basic fairness for gay and lesbian Americans and works to build a more inclusive GOP. It is a chapter of Log Cabin Republicans, a 30-year old organization which has state and local chapters nationwide, a full-time office in Washington, DC, a federal political action committee and state political action committees.
[...] 7. Republican State Senator Paul Koering, who is gay, came out against marriage equality in an interview with a northern Minnesota radio station. He stated he would not vote for a marriage equality bill that was before the Minnesota Legislature. Legislators can’t “waste their time” with “pointless legislation,” his legislative assistant said in a followup. Even the Minnesota Log Cabin Republicans rebuffed his statement. [...]