Minnesota's gay Republican will not vote for marriage equality bill
By Andy Birkey 2/17/09 10:18 AM
http://minnesotaindependent.com/26671/minnesotas-gay-republican-will-not-vote-for-marriage-equality-billState Sen. Paul Koering, R-Fort Ripley, told KLKS on Friday that he will not vote for the Marriage and Family Protection Act, a bill that would make Minnesota's marriage laws gender-neutral, allowing same-sex couples many of the rights currently denied by Minnesota statute. Koering, who is gay and a Republican, said he would vote against it because the state faces bigger problems.
Koering came out in 2005 after voting against a constitutional amendment to ban civil unions and same-sex marriage pushed by then-State Sen. Michele Bachmann. He is one of very few openly gay elected Republicans in the United States and was re-elected by his conservative Brainerd-area constituents in 2006, despite a hard push by religious right activists to defeat him for his votes on gay rights.
When he came out in 2005, he was cautious about pushing hard for same-sex marriage, a position he still appears to hold.
