Richard Carlbom, who was instrumental in defeating last November’s proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, and then leading the effort to pass the same-sex marriage law in the Legislature, is now working for the national Freedom to Marry group.
Freedom to Marry, based in New York, announced today that it hopes to raise $3 million this year in its campaign to secure gay marriage in more states.
Citing Carlbom’s success in Minnesota — “passage of a freedom to marry law, the first legislative victory in America’s heartland” — the group laid out its strategy:
Under Carlbom’s direction, Freedom to Marry is working to win four states by 2013/2014 – Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey and Oregon – and laying the groundwork to win at least six more states by 2015-2016 (some mix of Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia), while teeing up states for post-2016 (and recognizing that others could be added to the mix based on changing circumstances). With strategic lawsuits to be filed, Freedom to Marry will continue to work closely with our legal partners on state-specific public engagement strategies.
The Pioneer Press notes that before his statewide work as campaign manager for Minnesotans United for All Families, “Carlbom was a Democratic political operative. He served as mayor of St. Joseph, Minn., from 2005 to 2007 and recently formed a St. Paul-based political consulting firm.”
Thirteen states will recognize same-sex marriages when the new laws in Rhode Island and Minnesota take effect Aug. 1.
Freedom for Marry has this list:
Thirteen states – CA, CT, DE, IA, ME, MD, MA, MN (takes effect August 1), NH, NY, RI (takes effect August 1), VT, and WA — plus Washington, D.C., have the freedom to marry for same-sex couples.
In 2012, the legislature in NJ passed a freedom to marry bill, and work is now underway to override the governor’s veto.
A mess
This whole discrimination thing has horrible roots and every minority group could be victimized
eg found in my Dads papers a job adv from 1945 ending
“……..Jews and colored need not apply”
If yuour in the public square biz, you serve everyone.
If your a chuch or a closely afffilitated church group, you can do as you please
Think of what the hobby lobby door opens – for blacks, Jews, gays, other people of color, people with disabilities that dont affect their capability to do a job or simply access a public building etc