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Minnesota House to vote on same-sex marriage proposal Thursday

The scheduling of the House vote signals that Democrats believe they have the votes necessary to pass the measure, which the governor has said he will sign.

By Baird Helgeson

May 7, 2013 at 9:43PM

Minnesota For Marriage, opponents of same sex marriage held a news conference claiming that religious protections in the Minnesota proposal are inadequate, leaving business owners and religious groups wide open to lawsuits if they fail to embrace same-sex marriage. Monday, May 6, 2013 ] GLEN STUBBE * gstubbe@startribune.com (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Minnesota House will hold a final floor vote on whether to legalize same-sex marriage Thursday.

House Speaker Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, said he would not bring the measure up for a floor vote until he was certain it had the votes to pass.

The Senate is expected to take up the measure soon after. DFL Gov. Mark Dayton is a supporter of same-sex marriage and said he will sign the proposal into law.

The vote will come after months of intense lobbying at the Capitol by both sides of the issue.

"Thursday's vote in the Minnesota House of Representatives will be a historic victory for thousands of same-sex couples and families in our state," said Richard Carlbom, campaign manager for Minnesotans United, the lead group pushing for same-sex marriage.

If legislators pass the measure, Minnesota will become the 11th state to legalize same-sex marriage.

about the writer

Baird Helgeson

Deputy editor

Baird Helgeson is deputy local editor at the Star Tribune. He helps supervise coverage of local news. Before becoming an editor, he was an award-winning reporter who covered state government and politics. He has worked for news organizations in Minnesota, Florida and North Dakota.