Writing My Legislators

Contacting your legislators to express your opposition to the proposed amendment to the Minnesota constitution prohibiting legal status for same-sex couples is important. Don't know who represents you in the Legislature? You can find your legislative district as well as contact information by using our district finder.
 

Complete contact information for your representative and senator is available at the Minnesota State Legislature, but the addresses below are all you need to write your legislators.

When writing your Senator:

The Honorable [first name] [last name]
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota  55155

When writing your Representative:

The Honorable [first name] [last name]
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota  55155

Tips For Writing Your Legislators:

• Be sure you're writing your legislator! Legislators often pay far less attention to letters they receive from people who do not live in their districts.
• In a brief first paragraph, introduce yourself and identify yourself as one of the legislator's constituents.
• In a more substantive second paragraph, identify the specific issue you are writing about, and your basic position on it ("I support/oppose … "). Identify any facts or figures that support your position. If you have a personal story that illustrates why you take this position, share it in enough detail to communicate its importance to you, but not in so much detail that you lose your reader.
• In a brief third paragraph, identify what it is you want your legislator to do in response.
• Thank your legislator for their consideration of your viewpoint. It is often helpful to offer to provide more information if the legislator wants it.
• Sign your letter, and include your mailing address. Feel free to include an email address and/or phone number if you wish.

Sample Talking Points:

These are a few useful points you can make in discussing the proposed state constitutional amendment barring legal status for same-sex couples:

• The amendment is a political smokescreen: those pushing the amendment are doing so for political purposes. Minnesotans want legislators to focus on real issues like education, health care, and transportation. This amendment represents divisive politics at its worst; we should not let proponents use the constitution as a partisan tool. The divisive politics behind this amendment have no place in the Minnesota Legislature and in our Constitution.
• This proposed amendment goes too far: while many people do oppose permitting same-sex couples to marry, many nonetheless support creating some alternative form of legal recognition. This amendment would prevent the Legislature from ever doing so.
• This proposed amendment is unnecessary: the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled some 35 years ago that same-sex couples had no constitutional right to marry. The Minnesota Legislature has repeatedly reinforced this through laws passed in 1977, 1993, and 1997. No matter how the popular vote on this proposed amendment turned out, same-sex marriage would still be unrecognized in Minnesota.
• This proposed amendment helps nobody: for those who believe that "marriage is in crisis," nobody can explain how withholding the ability to marry from same-sex couples will strengthen a single marriage or prevent a single divorce anywhere in Minnesota. If anything, this amendment would prevent the Legislature from ever addressing the needs of families headed by same-sex couples who, according to the 2000 Census, live in every county in Minnesota.
• This proposed amendment is unclear: in other states, after approval of language similar to that proposed in Minnesota, certain domestic-abuse charges had to be dropped in cases involving unmarried heterosexual couples, and employers' ability to provide domestic partner benefits has been challenged. The final interpretation of the unclear language in this proposal will ironically be left to the very courts amendment proponents often criticize as "activist."
• The proposed amendment is unfair: constitutions exist in order to safeguard, among other things, the rights of minorities from abuse by majorities. Amending a constitution specifically to impose legal restrictions on a minority group is an abuse of the democratic process.

OutFront Minnesota is a non-partisan organization serving the GLBT and allied communities of Minnesota. All services including voter guides, voter information, and voter registration are made available without regard to a voter's political preference or on the basis of support or opposition to a particular candidate.