Reality Check: 1 Year Anniversary Of Gay Marriage In MN
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – August 1 marks the one year anniversary of gay marriage in Minnesota.
Throughout the year thousands of same-sex couples got married.
It's a significant cultural change in a state which rejected gay marriage for years, then witnessed an emotional legislative battle to pass it.
But a year after gay marriage became law, there's been a quiet revolution.
Of the 12,224 same sex couples living in Minnesota, 32 percent got married.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press compiling statewide figures showing 3,885 couples tied the knot in the last 12 months.
The vast majority are in Hennepin County, 2334, followed by Ramsey County with 228.
It's a trend playing out nationally, too.
Minnesota was the 13th state to legalize same sex marriage.
A year later, 19 states allow it.
And in 31 states that ban gay marriage, 12 of those bans were overturned by the courts as unconstitutional.
Opposition to gay marriage in Minnesota was fierce, and television ads predicted far reaching consequences.
"If marriage is redefined in Minnesota, same sex marriage could be taught in local schools," predicted one ad from a group calling itself Minnesotans for Marriage.
So far, that prediction has not come true.
The state Education Department reported no Minnesota public schools are "teaching" gay marriage.
"No changes have been made to the Minnesota K-12 education standards as a result of the passage of the Freedom to Marry Law," said Josh Collins, Communications Director of the Minnesota Department of Education. "The state does not mandate specific curriculum for districts. Minnesota schools continue the work of preparing every child in Minnesota for success in career and in life."
And a year after gay marriage became legal in Minnesota, support is rising.
A public policy poll in June reports 52 percent of Minnesotans favor gay marriage.
Forty percent oppose.
Here are some of the sources that we used for this reality check:
St. Paul Pioneer Press:
"A Year of Same Sex Marriage"
Natl Conference of State Legislatures
National Same Sex Marriage Laws
Public Policy Polling: Gay Marriage Minnesota June 2014
US Census Bureau/Same Sex Households
