Gay Marriage? IP focuses on Civil Unions

Party Chair asserts “The Minnesota Senate should stop this assault against liberty.”

Today the Senate Judiciary Committee will take up the proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.  Over the last week, many individuals have stood up and eloquently framed the debate as a continuation of civil rights guaranteed under our constitution.  The Independence Party would like to add one more element to this debate.  This inflamed issue has brought the defense of liberty to a new low.

Allowing heterosexual couples shared property rights, automatic inheritance, and the right to make medical decisions for an incapacitated spouse while denying such rights to homosexual couples simply symbolizes governmental overreach.  While some religious institutions have traditions against homosexuality, there is no compelling governmental interest worthy of this attempt to limit the liberty of certain citizens.  Moreover, amending the Minnesota Constitution and the US Constitution to limit individual liberty instead of limiting governmental authority fundamentally weakens the documents that are the core of our society’s foundation.

Furthermore, liberty within religious traditions is also threatened by this proposed amendment.  The government should not be in the business of defining “marriage.” The sanctification of “marriage” should respectfully be reserved to the religious institutions who have labored throughout history to create the moral institution that “marriage” represents.  

The Independence Party presented the following resolution to its membership at our March caucuses:

All lifetime commitments between two consenting adults shall be simply recognized by the state as civil unions. The sanctification of marriage should be reserved to non public institutions (e.g. religious institutions) where it rightfully belongs.   

68% of our caucus attendees voted in favor of this resolution.

“The Minnesota Senate should stop this assault against liberty.” said State Party Chair Jim Moore.  He added “We need to keep government out of our personal lives.  Our elected officials need to return to the business of governing.”

Released: 3/26/04