On Tuesday the
Minnesota Family Council said that within the next few days it
would introduce a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex
marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships in the state.
The group made the announcement at a press conference,
accompanied by religious leaders who said that gay marriage
would trigger the end of the world.
"If everyone is a
gay, this world will cease to exist in 10 years," said Ikram
ul-Huq, the imam and religious director of the Muslim Community
Center of Bloomington, according to
The Minnesota Independent.
The proposed same-sex
marriage ban is in response to legislation introduced in the
house and senate that would enact marriage equality in
Minnesota by making the marriage laws gender-neutral. That
legislation still needs to be heard and passed in committees,
and soon, in order to reach the house or senate floors this
session.
Political observers say
that the amendment to ban same-sex marriage is unlikely to make
it out of committee and appear on the ballot in 2010.
Amendments were introduced and passed in the house from 2004
through 2006, but died in the senate each time. Democrats have
controlled the legislature since 2006, and no action has been
taken on amendments to ban same-sex marriage in the past two
years.