Gay Marriage, Minnesotans, and a Canadian, Oh My!

Malaika’s Team Pick:

How do a video with happy Minnesotans, a story of an adorable grandmother, and a Canadian-American dual citizen campaigner go together? They’re all united by the fight for same-sex marriage. This is a fight that we’re totally winning, by the way. Sorry N.O.M, Margaret Atwood and The Lord of the Rings say that good always wins in the end. And if I remember correctly from Sunday school, so does the Bible.

On Tuesday night, Minnesotans voted against a proposition that would’ve defined marriage as solely between a man and a woman in their constitution. While same-sex marriage isn’t legal in the state just yet, Minnesota is the first state to reject a ban on same-sex marriage. Minnesota is on the way to marriage equality, and from the looks of this video of Minnesotans United for All Families, they know it! MUAF campaign manager Richard Carlbom is thanking his campaigners for their hard work and warning them that it’ll be a while before the results come in, when suddenly they get the good news! There is much hugging and filming of jackets because who has time to properly hold a camera when you just found out your state said “no way” to reserving marriage for only heterosexual couples.

This Thursday on CBC radio’s The Current, host Anna Maria Tremonti interviewed dual U.S. and Canadian citizen and Executive Director of Equality Maryland, Carrie Evans. Carrie Evans seems to be the type of person who doesn’t quite fit anywhere and is therefore wonderful everywhere. She’s Canadian AND American! She has fought long and hard for marriage equality in Maryland, but listening to her speak so eloquently about Minnesota, you’d think she’d spent the last eight years campaigning there as well! In addition to describing the importance of the recent wins in both Minnesota and Maryland, Evans spoke of attending university in Canada back in the 90s, before legalized same-sex marriage. Evans admits that it’s difficult fighting for rights state by state, and then we’re introduced to Evans’ grandma. I know your heart butterflies have already gotten a workout fluttering away for those happy MUAF campaigners and for Evans, but Evans’ grandma is the third piece of adorable in the triangle of joy that is this article. She’s 85, she lives in Regina, Saskatchewan, and, like every good grandmother, she’s concerned for her granddaughter. “When are you going to move back?” she asks Evans. “I just don’t understand how everything you all work for down there is such a fight. You have to fight for everything and aren’t you tired?”

Because she’s awesome, Evans isn’t leaving anytime soon: “I am [tired] grandma and I’m not ready to give up the fight.”

Evans is confident that after all the same-sex marriage wins on Tuesday night, things are only going to get better. The opposition to marriage equality will fade away to never-never relevant-land as proponents for marriage equality keep winning, and winning, and winning some more.

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Malaika

Malaika likes books, drinking tea, long conversations, dinner parties, making funny faces, bike rides, and dogs. Originally from Edmonton, she now lives in Montreal where she edits, runs, and writes about the Alberta Tar Sands for The Media Co-op. You can follow her on twitter @Malaika_Aleba.

Malaika has written 84 articles for us.

10 Comments

  1. I’ve got to say, I’m very rarely patriotic, but I’ve been enjoying a week of being very proud of being Minnesotan.

  2. Thank you for the kind words Malaika! I spent many years in North Dakota and Minnesota is close to my heart! Actually lived in E. Grand Forks, MN after the 1997 flood:)

  3. As an intern for MN United, it is an amazing feeling to know my fellow comrades and I’s work paid off!! Way to show the way Minnesota!

  4. As a proud Minnesotan who loves her state, I am ecstatic that this amendment got shot down. I knew my state wouldn’t fail! The “Vote No” campaign was very impressive. Now it’s time to work towards the next step of legalizing same sex marriage.

  5. Maybe it’s because I live in rural MN, but I wasn’t nearly as optimistic about this amendment failing. Most of the people I talked to in my town do not support same-sex marriage. Luckily, a lot of them were voting no because they thought that the state constitution was the wrong place to address it. There are still a lot of red counties in our state, but this success is an amazing first step!

  6. My parents live in Minnesota and despite generally being against gay marriage and still weird about me, voted No. The times they are a-changin. And that video touched me. Now I’m having all these feelings….

  7. Small nitpick — Minnesota is actually not the first state to vote down a gay marriage ban. Arizona did it around 2006 or so. This is getting misreported a lot.

    • That’s because what Arizona rejected was a ban on Marriage and Civil Unions. Arizona went on to approve a ban on just Marriage in 2008. So they don’t get any credit.

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