On Tuesday, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed marriage equality legislation into law. Twelve states and Washington, DC, now recognize the freedom to marry. Gay and lesbian couples will be able to marry starting August 1.

Today’s bill signing is a long time coming for the state. Minnesota is home to the first lawsuit where a gay or lesbian couple sued over marriage rights. In 1971, the State Supreme Court ruled in Baker v Nelson that a law limited marriage to opposite couples did not violate the state constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case at the time “for want of a substantial federal question.”

The state legislature passed a bill in 2011 to have voters consider a constitutional amendment that would have banned marriage for gay and lesbian couples. It was defeated in 2012, part of a landslide victory, which also brought marriage equality to Maine, Maryland and Washington.

Next month, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on AFER’s challenge to California’s Proposition 8. Sign up for breaking news updates.

The State House of Representatives passed the legislation last week with bipartisan support. The bill now advances to Governor Mark Dayton, a champion of the legislation, who plans to sign the bill into law as early as tomorrow, Tuesday, May 14. Couples will be able to get married starting August 1.

Minnesota will become the twelfth state in the nation to recognize marriage equality, and first in the Midwest to pass marriage legislation. Today’s historic vote comes only six months after Minnesotan’s rejected a ban on the freedom to marry in the state constitution.

With a few weeks left in the legislative session, the Minnesota House passed a bill that would recognize marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples by a 75-59 vote.

The State Senate could hear the bill as early as Monday. if passed, Governor Mark Dayton has pledged he will sign the legislation into law and Minnesota would become the twelfth state to recognize marriage equality, in addition to Washington, D.C. Dayton has been lobbying aggressively for marriage equality and recently made his case to supporters in an email.

“Urge lawmakers in St. Paul to follow their consciences and pass the freedom to marry,” he wrote. “We cannot legislate love. Committed, same-sex Minnesota couples deserve to make their own decisions for their own families. It’s a simple, yet profound ideal.”

He writes:

“The trajectory of human history is toward greater freedom and tolerance. It is equally true that political discourse often lags the public as freedom moves inevitably forward.

“That’s the case now as legislators consider allowing all Minnesotans the freedom to marry the person they choose. In my party, some Republicans have been reluctant to support same-sex marriage. But it shouldn’t be so difficult — this is another area where less government is better government.

“Put another way, who do you want deciding who should get married: individuals or politicians?

“If we’re going to be the small-government party, getting government out of the business of marriage seems to be a natural step. Conservatives believe in the rights of individuals and personal responsibility. Allowing people to marry the person they love — building strong commitments and communities along the way — helps foster personal responsibility.”

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After defeating a constitutional amendment that would have banned marriage for gay and lesbian couples, legislators in the state are now considering legislation that would recognize marriage equality. Twin bills have passed in both the House Civil Law Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee. Find out more about the legislation and state’s history with marriage.

Live in Minnesota? Get involved with Minnesotans United at mnuntied.org.

Despite the landslide victory for marriage equality during November’s election, gay and lesbian couples in Minnesota are still unable to get married.  While we won all states where marriage was on the ballot, our victory in Minnesota was against a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have banned marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

Currently, Minnesota bans the recognition of marriage for gay and lesbian couples by statute. The initiative on the November ballot would have added a constitutional amendment, which is much harder to undo.

But on the heels of November’s victory, new momentum is gaining to pass marriage equality legislation.

Hurdles

To be signed into law, marriage equality legislation would have to clear the states House of Representatives (134 seats, 39 Democrat, 28 Republican) and Senate (67 seats, 73 Democrat, 61 Republican), and be signed into law by Governor Mark Dayton (D).

Public Opinion

A May 2011 Public Policy poll found that 45% of Minnesota voters supported marriage equality, compared to 45% against and 9% unsure. Fast forward to November 2012 when the same survey found 49% support, 41% opposed and 9% unsure. The proposed amendment in November was defeated 51% to 48%.

As part of the campaign to defeat Amendment 1, Minnesotans United for All Families launched an impressive door to door effort, encouraging millions of personal conversations about marriage equality, and blanketed the state with affirming TV ads.

Sorted History

Minnesota is home to the first lawsuit where a gay or lesbian couple sued over marriage rights. In 1971, the State Supreme Court ruled in Baker v Nelson that a law limited marriage to opposite couples did not violate the state constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case at the time “for want of a substantial federal question.”

Here we are at the end of 2012, and after a year of amazing progress we’re closer than ever to full federal marriage equality. Think about where we were a year ago with Prop 8, with DOMA, with marriage laws from state to state. So much has happened since then. So let’s do a quick year-in-review to get you caught up with the progress we made in 2012, and where we’re going to focus in 2013, including which states are the most likely to make headlines in the coming year.

Fairness and equality have won out over fear and prejudice. Voters in Maine, Maryland, and Washington have approved marriage equality, and in Minnesota they rejected a state constitutional ban on marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

• Find out when gay and lesbian couples get married in Maine, Maryland and Washington>

For the first time, voters have drawn a line in the sand and said to the nation: ALL Americans should have the fundamental freedom to marry the person they love.

For the first time, voters have rejected the specious claims that anti-marriage forces use to prevent loving gay and lesbian couples and their families from being treated with the equal dignity and respect guaranteed by our Constitution.

In each state, anti-marriage campaigns relied on the same harmful lies and distortions used in 2008 to pass Proposition 8 in California. But as AFER proved during the 2010 federal district court trial of Proposition 8, these stigmatizing arguments simply have no basis in fact or reality.

• Find out when gay and lesbian couples get married in Maine, Maryland and Washington>

AFER strongly believes that fundamental constitutional rights should never be put up for a vote. However, last night proved that the remaining barriers that prevent gay and lesbian couples from exercising their freedom to get married are crumbling fast.

With the Supreme Court poised to consider whether it will take AFER’s federal constitutional challenge to Proposition 8, the momentum for marriage equality has never been stronger.

And our victories for marriage equality are not alone. America has elected its first openly gay or lesbian senator, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and retained Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins, who was targeted for joining the unanimous decision that overturned that state’s ban on marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

This is a great day for couples waiting to get married, their families, and for every American who believes in our nation’s commitment to equal rights for all.

This election brought us an amazing victory. Until now, our opponents have kept pointing out that they’ve won every popular vote on marriage. But not anymore. With sixteen national surveys showing a majority of Americans support the freedom to marry, their winning streak is at an end.

If you live in those states, there is still time to get involved:

• Mainers United for Marriage
• Marylanders for Marriage Equality
• Minnesotans United for All Families
•  Washington United for Marriage

If you don’t live in one of those you states, there is still time to call voters from your home throughout the day to help get out the vote.   Sign up at www.20MillionMore.org

Be sure to follow AFER on Twitter and Facebook for the latest election results as they come in.

And if you are looking for your polling place, or a sample ballot, check out smartvoter.org.