"ST. PAUL, Minn.—The state Senate on Wednesday approved a statewide vote in 2012 on a gay-marriage ban in the Minnesota Constitution, pushing forward what's expected to be a contentious debate over the definition of legal unions.
The Senate voted 38-27 in favor of the marriage amendment, with one Democrat joining all Republicans in support. The state House is expected to vote on the issue soon, and passage is likely in the Republican-led chamber.
State law already confines marriage in Minnesota to one man and one woman. But supporters of that definition said the extra protection is needed to guard against judicial rulings like one that legalized gay marriage in Iowa in 2009. Critics said it would enshrine discrimination in the state's most important document, and that the debate between now and November 2012 would be divisive and a distraction from more important issues facing the state."
Those are the first few paragraphs from an AP story. Buried deep, check this one out:
"Despite the perception of changing opinion, the 31 states that have voted on constitutional gay marriage bans have all passed them. Mr. Dibble and his allies said they believed Minnesota had the potential to be the first to vote one down. But most said they did not relish what Sen. Linda Higgins predicted would be a "long, divisive and bitter debate"—one likely to attract attention and a steady stream of political spending from national groups on both sides of the issue."
Now that is fucking depressing.
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