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Marriage Equality

Minneapolis Mayor Invites Gay Chicagoans to Marry in His City

Minneapolis Mayor Invites Gay Chicagoans to Marry in His City

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The tax advantages of marriage will easily pay for a flight to Minneapolis, he notes.

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The mayor of Minneapolis told Chicagoans Thursday that his city should be their kind of town for same-sex weddings.

Mayor R.T. Rybak chose the Windy City to launch Minneapolis's ad campaign urging same-sex couples from other cities, especially in the Midwest, to get married in the Minnesota metropolis, the Chicago Tribune reports. Minnesota's marriage equality law went into effect August 1, while similar legislation is still pending in Illinois.

"You could fly to Minneapolis today and by the afternoon you would be eligible for 111 federal legal advantages," he said while appearing at the Center on Halsted, Chicago's LGBT community center. "If all you did was file a joint tax return, you could save the cost for not only you, but your whole wedding party."

Minneapolis businesses would see financial advantages too: Rybak noted that one wedding can generate up to $10,000 in spending. "If I was the mayor of any city in Illinois, I would be really frightened," he said, according to the Tribune. "Chicago and other towns stand to lose a lot of money. My advice is to get on board. This is going to happen. People are going to remember how long it took for Illinois to come around." He added that he hopes Illinois does come around, but "until then, we're happy to take your money."

Minneapolis officials will also take the campaign to two Wisconsin cities, Milwaukee and Madison, as well as farther west to Denver.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.