In just over a week the voting populous in the state of Minnesota will have the opportunity to vote on two vicious and mean-spirited amendments to the state constitution. One purports to “defend” marriage by amending the state constitution to preemptively disallow legalization of gay marriage, something that isn’t actually legal in Minnesota at the moment. The other is a remarkably restrictive “voter ID” amendment that purports to “solve” a fraud problem in a state with some of the cleanest election record in the U.S., while in fact disenfranchising numerous of the elderly, low-income citizens, young people, the disabled, and citizens of color. (See The League of Women Voters for details.)
If these issues concern you, if gays kind of creep you out or you’re worried about voter fraud, that’s fine – we can agree to disagree. But do you really believe your concerns warrant amending the state constitution? The people driving both these proposals are the philosophical descendants of those who fought (and, sadly, still fight) to limit the rights of those who aren’t “like us”. Is that how you wish to be remembered?
How, in fact, do we wish to be remembered?
The top image is from Wikipedia and the bottom is from the Library of Congress. The middle photo is mine, taken here in Morris, Minnesota.
You’re obviously welcome to distribute this freely in whatever fashion seems appropriate.