Same-sex marriage fight grips Capitol
03/21/2006
State Senate again turns back floor vote; rallies planned
BY RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER
Pioneer Press
The consternation and controversy over gay marriage intensified Monday as the Minnesota Senate twice turned back attempts to force a vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as only the union of one man and one woman.
The votes, both on procedural motions, came the day before a rally that is expected to bring thousands of amendment supporters to the Capitol.
And the votes were only hours after Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Russell Anderson strongly denied there was any truth to disputed comments Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson made about the court’s position on the 1997 law defining marriage.
Johnson told a group of fellow pastors in January that he received assurances from Supreme Court members that they would not “touch” the 1997 law that defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Johnson essentially retracted those comments last week but maintained that he had a casual conversation with at least one justice about the law.
“This just never happened,” said Anderson, who has confirmed that with all of the current Supreme Court justices and former Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz.
Judges, he said, have it ingrained in them never to discuss any matter that could come before them — and that includes the marriage law.
Not only did no justice give Johnson any assurances, “there was no conversation about the Defense of Marriage Act,” Anderson said during a conference call with reporters.
He said that when he heard reports of Johnson’s tale, “I was incredulous. … I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing.”
The justice’s comments keep the controversy alive because they directly contradict every version of Johnson’s retelling of his interaction with members of the Supreme Court.
On Friday, Johnson apologized for his comments, which were recorded by a fellow pastor and made public Wednesday. He said he “embellished” the truth. On Monday, Johnson told reporters he did not want to discuss the issue further despite Anderson’s categorical refutation of Johnson’s version of what transpired.
The fate of the 1997 law is important in the overall debate about marriage. Backers of the constitutional amendment to exclude all but heterosexual couples from marriage and its legal equivalent say the law is vulnerable and may be overturned. Opponents of the amendment say the law is stronger than those overturned in other states and that no one has challenged it in court since its passage.
Despite the clashes between Johnson and others over his comments, Democrats in the Senate are standing by their leader. They met in a closed-door meeting Monday morning and voted their continued support for the Willmar Democrat who has led them since 2004.
“We had a unanimous vote to unequivocally and enthusiastically support Senator Johnson now and in the future,” said Assistant Majority Leader Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope. “It is as simple as that.”
Rest said no one in the meeting expressed any doubts about Johnson’s leadership. She said the continued differences between what Johnson and Anderson have said about discussions the senator had or didn’t have with Supreme Court justices “are for them to work out.”
The Minnesota Republican Party has pounced on Johnson’s troubles. Last week, it released a radio ad questioning his credibility. Monday, it unveiled a Web site, http://www.sandingoffthetruth.com. The name of the site is based on a quote from Johnson’s statements Friday.
“Somebody is lying,” state Republican Chairman Ron Carey said at a Capitol news conference. “Either eight Minnesota Supreme Court justices, past or current, or else Senator Dean Johnson…. I think Dean Johnson lied.”
The Minnesota Democratic Party also reacted to the consternation over Johnson. Its chairman, Brian Melendez, released a statement Monday saying Johnson has been a moral leader and “it’s time to move on.”
He also took issue with the Republicans’ use of the tape of Johnson’s comments, which was made without the majority leader’s knowledge. Melendez called that “morally and politically reprehensible.”
Johnson’s comments and their repercussions slipped onto the Senate floor Monday afternoon as members took their first votes on the issue this year.
The House has repeatedly approved an amendment but the Senate has turned back attempts to force it to do the same. Normally, measures must go through the committee process before they are voted upon on the floor.
The amendment awaits a committee hearing in the Senate this year. In 2004, a Senate committee failed to pass the amendment to the floor, and the committee vote would likely be similar this year.
So, backers of the amendment tried Monday, as they have before, to bring it straight to the floor without committee approval.
“The people of the state of Minnesota have been waiting for this three long years,” said Sen. Michele Bachmann, R-Stillwater.
Other supporters of the amendment questioned if their anti-amendment Senate colleagues had embellished the truth, mimicking Johnson’s description of his Supreme Court misstatements.
Despite 45 minutes of procedural discussion, both attempts to bring the amendment to the floor failed. All Republican members of the Senate supported the attempts. They were once joined by DFL Sen. Gary Kubly, of Granite Falls, and twice by DFL Sen. Jim Vickerman, of Tracy.
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Proposed amendment
If both the Minnesota House and Senate approve the marriage amendment, voters would be asked on Election Day: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that marriage or its legal equivalent is limited to only the union of one man and one woman?”
For the amendment to pass, a majority of those voting would have to approve it. Those who vote on Election Day but do not vote on the amendment are counted as “no” votes.
Despite the clashes between Sen. Dean Johnson and others over his comments about Minnesota’s 1997 Defense of Marriage Act, Democrats in the Senate are standing by their leader. They voted in a closed-door meeting Monday morning their continued support for the Willmar Democrat who has led them since 2004.