After a long stretch of being nearly invisible in Minnesota politics, former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura and his wife came out Friday to promote the defeat of the marriage amendment.

Clean-shaven and smiling, the former governor says on the video: "Love is by far bigger than government can ever be."

Ventura has long been a supporter of gay rights. During his administration, he and Republicans clashed over his desire to allow partners of gay and lesbian state employees eligible for benefits.

"We are the state of Minnesota, we'll make our own decisions and we know what good values are in Minnesota. Good values are to keep people free. We should defeat this and vote no to show the rest of the United States that nobody influences Minnesotans on what's right or wrong," Ventura says.

Ventura, Minnesota's only Independence Party governor, is in a long line of high-profile spokespeople for Minnesota United for All Families, the main campaign to defeat the amendment to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage.

Current Gov. Mark Dayton, radio host Garrison Keillor, former TV anchors Robyne Robinson and Don Shelby, commedian Lizz Winstead, Carlson Companies' chair Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Republicans Wheelock Whitney, Kathleen Blatz and John Kriesel have all helped the Minnesota United campaign.

The endorsers, and the significant cash advantage the defeat campaign has, have not put the 'Vote No' campaign over the top. One recent poll, from Public Policy Polling, found that 48 percent of likely voters say they will vote yes on the amendment and 47 percent will vote no. Another poll, from SurveyUSA/KSTP, found 50 percent said they'd vote for the amendment and 43 percent opposed to it.

Here's the Ventura video: