Kriesel continues to campaign against marriage amendment

In a fundraising email for Minnesotans United, retiring state Rep. John Kriesel strongly encouraged people to make a donation because "defeating this amendment won't be cheap." The Republican lawmaker also wrote, "We’re facing a constitutional amendment this fall that threatens families. It aims to tell Minnesotans which committed couples are worthy of marriage in our state -- and worse, which ones aren’t."

Author:: BMTN Staff
Updated:: Mar 8, 2018
Original:: May 21, 2012

In a fundraising email for Minnesotans United, retiring state Rep. John Kriesel strongly encouraged people to make a donation because "defeating this amendment won't be cheap." The Republican lawmaker also wrote, "We’re facing a constitutional amendment this fall that threatens families. It aims to tell Minnesotans which committed couples are worthy of marriage in our state -- and worse, which ones aren’t."

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The leaders of dozens of churches and synagogues gathered in Minneapolis to compare notes on how to talk about the marriage amendment with their congregations. Minnesotans will vote this fall on whether to amend the Constitution to prohibit same sex marriage. The clergy who met Thursday are working to defeat the amendment. A similarly-sized group met in Eden Prairie last month to work on helping to pass it.

Religious leaders are at the forefront of the final weekend of campaigning for and against the marriage amendment on Tuesday's ballot. More than 500 Christian leaders with the group Minnesota Pastors For Marriage released a statement in support of the amendment that would Constitutionally define marriage as an opposite sex union. Opponents planned a worship service followed by the blessing of a "Minnesota Votes No Tour" that will travel the state until Election Day.

With a healthy lead in the polls, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is spending some of her political capital in the divisive fight over the marriage amendment. In a new email to potential donors, Klobuchar says she has pledged to help raise $10,000 for the fight against the controversial state ballot measure that would define marriage as between a man and woman.

The Golden Valley-based company came out Thursday to voice its opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in Minnesota. "We do not believe the proposed constitutional amendment is in the best interests of our employees or our state economy -- and as a Minnesota-based company we oppose it," General Mills said in a statement. The Pioneer Press notes General Mills and Little Canada-based St. Jude Medical are the only two major corporations in Minnesota to publicly oppose the marriage amendment.

A group opposing a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between and man and a woman has raised $3.1 million since it last reported its finances in January. Minnesotans United for All Families, a group formed solely to defeat the proposed change to the state's constitution, has collected more than $4.6 million since the campaign started last year.

A leader of the Minnesota for Marriage campaign pushing for approval of the marriage amendment has likened his anti-amendment foes to Adoph Hitler. Minnesota for Marriage has apologized for the comments and told the pastor to stick to his talking points.

Campaign finance records show Rev. Peter Lambert of St. Louis Catholic Church, about 45 miles west of Duluth, donated $1,000 about six months ago to Minnesotans United for All Families -- the primary group fighting the controversial ballot measure to essentially ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota. The News Tribune reports no other Minnesota priest in a recognized diocese has contributed to any group trying to defeat the constitutional amendment.

In just the last three days, nearly $1 million has been funneled into the campaigns on both sides of the two constitutional amendments on Minnesota's Election Day ballot, the Star Tribune reports. Among the donations, the Minnesota Family Council gave $500,000 to the effort supporting the amendment that would effectively ban gay marriage.

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