Marriage Amendment Gets New Title
Secretary of State, Mark Ritchie, announced today that he was changing the title of the ballot question to read: “Limiting the status of marriage to opposite sex couples.” The verbiage of the amendment itself, however, remains unchanged.
Last year, Governor Mark Dayton vetoed the amendment once it reached his desk. While his veto was only symbolic in nature - an amendment vote circumvents the governor - it did cause one important thing to happen: It invalidated the original title crafted by the legislature (“Recognition of Marriage Solely Between One Man and One Woman”). As a result, Ritchie selected the new title.
Of course, amendment backers are upset as the new verbiage reflects more on what the amendment would do: LIMIT RIGHTS. According to the Star Trib, amendment backers are already weighing whether to file a lawsuit.
I personally think it’s a good thing that we took “recognition” out of the title and changed it to “limiting the status.” It better reflects what would actually be happening.
Curious to hear your thoughts. What do you think of this new title?
