On May 14, at 5:06 p.m. Central Time, before the capitol building in St. Paul, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton (Democrat) signed a bill permitting same-sex marriage in the state into law, making Minnesota the 12th of the United States to do so. The bill passed the Minnesota House, by a vote of 75 to 59, on May 9, and the Senate, by a vote of 37 to 30, on May 13, before going to Dayton for his signature. This makes it the third state in two weeks, following Rhode Island on May 2 and Delaware on May 7, to legalize marriage between same-sex couples.
The sponsor of the Senate bill had been State Senator D(avid) Scott Dibble (Democrat, Farm Labor party), Minnesota’s only openly gay legislator, who married Richard Leyva in California in 2008 before Proposition 8 passed, and in an emotional speech before the Senate on May 13, expressed regret that their marriage was not recognized in their own state.
The new Minnesota law takes effect on August 1.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak (Democrat) wrote in an email on May 14, “Love won in Minnesota yesterday. I will never forget what it was like to stand in the Minnesota state house and watch as so many men and women who have fought so long and hard for equality saw their home state take a giant step forward. It's something that should be happening in every state—not just my own … 12 down, 38 to go.”