Rep Kelly on MN Marriage Amendment

Minnesota Representative Tim Kelly discusses a proposed amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution that would ban gay marriage.  Constitutional amendments in Minnesota must be approved by the legislature before appearing on a statewide ballot.  Before the House is a motion to return the amendment to committee.

Thank you Mr. Speaker and members.

Mr. Speaker, I do rise to oppose this re-referral. That might seem a little contradictory because I think you all know I voted no in rules in the other day. But Mr. Speaker, I also made a promise to you that I wasn't going to play any games with this issue. Because it's a very serious issue. And I'd just like to tell the body that a few weeks ago I told our leadership, I told the speaker that I was going to be voting no on this amendment. And being on the executive board, and on leadership, I suggested that maybe I should be removed from that. And the speaker said "Why? Why would we do that?" And Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that. I understand that you had an obligation to fulfill of bringing this issue to the House floor, and it's here.

You know, I've never been a real in-your-face patriotic person. But in thinking of this issue I can't help but feel that this is an assault on personal freedom and choice. And it brought me back to a movie I saw back in the 90's by the name of, the movie was "American President." In that movie Michael Douglas played the president and he gave this speech, and I thought it was pretty riveting at the time. And he said: "You know, America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. And you've got to want it bad, because it's going to put up a fight. It's going to say 'You want free speech? If you want free speech, let me see you acknowledge a man that makes your blood boil standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. Show me that, and celebrate that, make that be a symbol of your country.'" Members, I think those were great words. Because we do enjoy a lot of freedoms here. We enjoy the freedom of religion. We enjoy the freedom of speech. And yes, we enjoy the freedom of choice, which arguably is one of the most important freedoms we have.

When we get up in the morning, we get to choose where to go to work. Where to send our kids to school. All the choices we have, we probably don't even think about, we take them for granted. And yet we stand here on the house floor deciding whether to put an amendment on the constitution of the state of Minnesota to remove some personal choices and freedoms from just a select few. Not for all, just a select few. In my mind, we're starting to talk about discrimination and prejudice. And I know we hide behind the fact that says we're just bringing this to the people. We're just going to give a voice to the people. Well, I think we can look back in history and see that we're littered with choices by the people that were very hurtful. All we have to do is look back to the 50's and 60's and see where prejudice and discrimination were at its height.

You know, a couple years ago Barack Obama was elected, our first black person as the president of the United States. There was a saying going around there that I picked up, it said, you know: "Rosa sat, so Martin could stand, so Barack could run, so that we could fly." And I don't think that was any big affirmation of any one individual as President of the United States. It was a statement of how far we had come as a country. We had taken a giant leap forward. We could celebrate for a moment that we were past prejudice and discrimination. We had overcome, and a majority of the people had elected the first black person. And now, rightfully so, he will be judged on his victories and his defeats, not for the color of his skin. And I believe right now, if we put this amendment on the constitution, we're taking a giant step backwards.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, could I ask Representative Kriesel to yield?

You can, Representative Kelly, Representative Kriesel will yield.

Rep Kelly: Representative Kriesel, I understand that this is a very personal issue for you, but could you please tell me how you lost your legs?

The member from Washington, Representative Kriesel.

Rep Kriesel: Thank you Mr. Speaker, Representative Kelly. I lost my legs serving in Iraq. I was on a combat patrol, we encountered an improvised explosive device, and that's how I was wounded.

Member from Goodhue, Representative Kelly.

Rep Kelly: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, would Representative Kriesel yield for one more question?

He will, Representative Kelly.

Rep Kelly: Representative Kriesel, could you please tell the body what you were doing in Iraq?

The member from Washington, Representative Kriesel.

Rep Kriesel: Thank you Mr. Speaker, Representative Kelly. I chose to go to Iraq so I could defend our way of life, our freedom and promote freedom to an oppressed group of people on the other side of the world that deserve it.

Member from Goodhue, Representative Kelly.

Rep Kelly: Thank you, Representative Kriesel, thank you for your service and for your sacrifice. We appreciate it.

Members, America isn't easy. And being a leader in America, or in the state of Minnesota, sitting in your chairs, is not easy. Sometimes you're faced with very difficult decisions. And you have to stand up, and take a stand.

You know, I talked to a lot of you and you're thinking about "Well, I made this promise back to my people back in my district or to my BPOU. Because they asked me about marriage, and I told them 'I believe marriage should be between a man and a woman.'" And we all respect that. But I'm just wondering: did they ask you another question after that? Did they say "if that's your belief, will you promise to make sure that everyone else in the state of Minnesota abides by your belief?" Is that what you promised? Or did you just make your opinion known that you believe marriage should be between a man and a woman? You didn't make promises to impose your will on other people.

So now let's just put this in perspective a little bit because yesterday was an amazing day. We had an individual standing at that podium, with more hatred than I have ever heard.¹ And because of that, when we went to recess, I think the majority of you were outraged. And if we would have voted yesterday, this amendment was going down on an up-and-down vote. I would ask you to think about what happened yesterday. And think about why your emotions were that high, that you were instantly going to vote this down. Because you know what? You know what happened to that individual? A few hours later, he was standing here in the capitol having a press conference denouncing our speaker. Because that's his right. And he's got that right because he lives in this country. Because of people like John Kriesel. And yet this amendment suggests that we can take away the rights of a small group of people to live their life the way they would like to live it. If we vote this amendment on, we legitimize that individual, and we diminish the sacrifices that Representative Kriesel and all the men and women who died fighting for the freedoms of individuals.

Representative Murphy, at this time I would like to ask you to consider withdrawing your amendment to refer this back to committee. I believe that the people on this side of the aisle will join with you and your members to vote this amendment down. Because it is the right time, it is the right statement, for the state of Minnesota.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Representatives Kelly and Kriesel joined two other Minnesota Republicans in voting against the amendment in the House.  The measure nonetheless passed.  (Full results)

¹ Rep Kelly here refers to an opening prayer given by Pastor Bradlee Dean in which the pastor suggested that President Barack Obama is not a Christian.  His statements were condemned by the Speaker and both parties in the House and his prayer was stricken from the record and replaced by one from the regular House chaplain.