I was expecting the NC amendment to pass with 54-55%, and it passed with 61%.

I think the margins in Maine and Washington are enough, however, that our side will win those states.

Also, since supporters of marriage equality are disproportionately younger, a good many of them may never make it to the polls on election day.

The passage of the constitutional amendment against equal marriage and civil unions in North Carolina has had an insidiously poisonous effect on the state. I've lived here a long time and didn't expect it to be defeated, but I've been a little surprised at how negative the impact has been on me and others. I know many gay people who feel so discouraged, so brokenhearted that our fellow citizens would treat us this way. I know long-time couples who are planning to leave the state as soon as they can, even though most other states have similar amendments. North Carolina was perceived as being more enlightened than many other conservative parts of the country, but with that amendment the people of this state broke a lot of hearts. A trust has been broken and it won't be rebuilt for a very long time, if ever.

These constitutional amendments against equal rights are an evil thing.

and am talking to everyone as I work in my precinct about the importance of voting NO.

This is all moving too slowly, but it's moving. What's really needed is a Supreme Court decision making all of those amendments and laws unconstitutional. We must elect a President who will appoint people to fill vacancies who share that belief. I'm not confident in the current SCOTUS at all, although I think the California Prop. 8 case is rock solid.

I'm so sorry about North Carolina. It wasn't a surprise, but was a big disappointment.

I addition to needing a liberal president, we need a liberal Congress to approve those Supreme Court nominees.

My district always sends a progressive to Congress, so I've been trying to work on beating Bachmann. It didn't work in 2010. Maybe it'll work in 2012.

I don't have a yard sign, though. They're great people and are working very hard to beat this amendment. They've been at every event in the Twin Cities all Summer, getting pledges and collecting donations. All wonderful people who are able to speak about the issue to anyone who will listen.

Has anywhere else that passed marriage amendments had the strong opposition that we have here? Big companies, local celebrities, and even some religious leaders have come out against it. Minnesota also has a high Lutheran population. They've become very progressive lately as far as gender and orientation. A lot of the churches in Minneapolis by the UofM campus have welcoming signs for all people.

Are we actually different... or am I living in a bubble?

In the more rural areas, though, there's a lot of support for the amendment, unfortunately. The TV ads for the NO vote are excellent, and feature real people telling why they're voting No. The ads for the Yes side are much weaker, and are currently using former TV news reader. It's almost impossible to tell what effect they're having, though.

You're right about the ELCA churches. They're almost all very welcoming and full of good people who will vote against the amendment.

It's all coming down to the wire, and I'm hoping that the people who don't bother to vote on the amendment at all will help carry the day. They're low-information voters, and will just skip that part of the ballot. They may make the difference. That's happened in the past a number of times.

Large college cities should be an easy win too. I would think that on average a younger person would be less likely to skip ballot questions too. It's a daily topic amongst my peers, we aren't likely to forget about it.


The ads on TV right now are all pretty weak, I agree. However, I took a weekend to volunteer with MN United, and they warned of ads that would be upcoming, featuring things like kids telling their parents they wanted to be gay. I guess that these ads have been highly effective in other states. I'm curious if anyone has seen these ads in their home state and if they knew anyone who changed their mind because of it.

You're right that college and university cities are generally good at supporting marriage equality. The current polls show the vote to be very, very close statewide. That's why I think the effect of people who don't vote at all on the amendment may work to stop it from passing. It's just a gut feeling, but I think I'm right.

A lot of people don't have any strong feelings one way or another about marriage equality. Their numbers are growing, too. If they decide just not to vote on the Amendment, their non-vote will count as a NO vote. They may not know that, since many Minnesotans don't really pay attention to the details of how the process works. In this case, the undecided will end up being on the NO side, and that's a good thing.

I also think the ads that are making the point about the Constitution not being a place to take rights away may influence some voters to vote No, even if they don't feel strongly about marriage equality.

I just have a feeling that Minnesota will turn this amendment down. But, all I can do is cross my fingers.

It's a combination of things that have me really hopeful about it. The numbers are moving towards the "no" side and if just enough people skip the ballot questions to make up the difference we really could be the first state to turn down an amendment like this. We're known for being "Minnesota nice" and nice people just wouldn't pass an amendment like this.


I agree about that ad! I love the closing line "Love is bigger than government." That should surely grab the attention of some Republicans.

Most religious leaders in North Carolina - including Billy Graham - supported the bigoted constitutional amendment. We did have a strong united coalition of opposition involving the state NAACP and many African American religious and civic leaders in urban areas - and the constitution was defeated in those urban areas. So that was very heartening. But none of the major companies based in North Carolina - including Bank of America, Duke Energy, Lowe's, GlaxoSmithKline, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, etc. bothered to strongly oppose. Some of them - notably BCBSNC - were opposed, but their efforts were very lightly publicized. They didn't want to offend customers.

So if you have that kind of strong, high-profile opposition in MN that is very different than what we saw in North Carolina. Good for Minnesota!

Minnesota's not North Carolina, that's for sure. Keep your hopes up, I think it could happen.

NOM - which is a front for the Catholic Church and Mormons - gets a lot of mileage out of the fact that every time this has been put up for vote citizens have voted against equal rights. A defeat for the bigots in MN would turn that around. It would have a strong national impact. Go Minnesota!

it may help turn the corner on these things.

I think our biggest ally here has been General Mills. I almost cried. They are one of the biggest employers in the state. After them, one by one companies started coming out and pledging "No" votes. I am putting a lot of stock in the corporate support for marriage equality, but I thought it was just such a big f'ing deal.


although I am sad for the residents of NC, I am glad to hear that Minnesota is different. I'm very hopeful, but cautious at the same time.

Thanks very much.

well-organized, motivated, informed and clear on its message as this one. It's truly a pleasure and a privilege to be involved with this campaign.

Grand Old Day and the State Fair to other events, the energy and approach has seemed spot on to me. A great group!

Pioneer Press about the amendment and attitudes toward it up in the north country around Duluth. The upshot of the article was that nobody's really talking about it much up there. That says to me that many will just skip voting on the amendment, and their votes will be counted as NO votes. Of course, we won't know until the day after the election.