Politics & Government

Governor Dayton Vetoes Marriage Amendment—But Only Symbolically

One local lawmaker said the veto sent a message to young people disheartened by the legislature's passage of the amendment.

Gov. Mark Dayton symbolically vetoed the passed last weekend by the Minnesota legislature.

"All American citizens are entitled to equal rights and protection under the law," Dayton read from a letter he sent to the Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch (R-Buffalo). "That would clearly include the right of a citizen to marry legally the person he or she loves."

Local before it passed through the Minnesota Legislature.

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“What it is to be an American, what it is to uphold the principals of our Constitution, is to always stand on the side of freedom, liberty and justice for all. Writing this into the Constitution flies in the face of that,” Bonoff told her fellow Senators in an impassioned speech on the Senate floor earlier this month.

Tuesday, Dayton said Minnesotans should "reject this mean-spirited, divisive, un-Minnesotan and un-American amendment."

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Even with the veto, the amendment, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman, will still be on 2012 ballot because the legislature has the authority to put constitutional amendments up for a public vote without the Governor’s approval. But Dayton supporters insisted that the symbolic veto sent a strong message to the public.

"[It] sends a signal to young people who‘ve been so disheartened by the actions of our legislature, who’ve been sent such a negative message, a message of being marginalized, a message that our constitution is not for them," said State Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis). "Our governor is saying, 'That’s not the case.'"

Dayton said he believes the amendment will fail: "People want to be families, people want to share the American dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in the way their creator created them."


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