Folks, Sure, the mayor could tell the city clerk to start issuing licenses to couples other than a man and woman. Great headlines, lots of praise, favorable mentions in the Star-Tribune. But unless I'm mistaken, Minnesota does have a law that specifies marriage as being between a man and a woman.
California also has such a law--a law created by referendum, to which the courts usually assign a higher weight. California's governor and attorney general have a positive obligation to challenge the SF mayor's actions; what's more, the cost of litigating this issue is likely to be much greater than the additional revenue generated by the licenses. New Mexico, on the other hand, defines marriage as a civil contract between two individuals. There is a law that spells out the format of marriage licenses and mentions man and woman, but I suspect a court could say that the equal rights provision in the NM constitution trumps that relatively minor bit of law. Kind of interesting that a Republican clerk in that county saw the opportunity and decided to act. Minneapolis is already on the map. Somehow, I don't think folks will flock to Bernalillo as a center of gay-friendly life (it's a small town north of Abuquerque and rather ugly). We have enough problems without locking up the city treasury in a vain effort that will ultimately be defeated. The answer is simple. Michael Moeglin and Melissa Wyatt hit upon it from different angles. The state can allow civil law unions between individuals. The churches, mosques, synagogues and temples can sanction such unions if they so choose. The state should not be in the business of "sanctifying" marriage. See this link: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=mplsgordon for a longer, fuller explanation. Oh--I'll bet anyone dollars to doughnuts that when civil unions become widespread, and those in them demand "family" medical benefits, that these benefits quickly disappear from the corporate cafeteria plans. There are always, *always,* unintended consequences. M. G. Stinnett Jordan REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
