Updated: 02/08/2013 7:51 AM
Created: 02/07/2013 4:16 PM KSTC45.com | Print Story | Email
By: Tom Hauser

Gay Marriage Battle Resurfaces after 'State of State'

Governor Dayton devoted only two lines of a 12-page "State of the State" speech to the issue of gay marriage, but it was enough to put that issue squarely on the legislative agenda this session.  

"I believe that every Minnesotan should have the freedom to marry legally the person she or he loves, whether of the same or other sex," the governor said in his speech, prompting a standing ovation from Democratic lawmakers.

However, it won't be easy to change the state's law banning gay marriage.  

Some Democrats who serve in socially conservative rural areas might find it difficult to vote to legalize gay marriage.

More broadly, a majority of Minnesotans oppose the idea, according to our latest KSTP/SurveyUSA poll. In that poll, 54 percent of Minnesotans surveyed say they oppose changing the law, while 42 percent support the idea.  The poll has a margin of error of +-4.5 percent.