A GOP state legislator appears ready to support a bill that would legalize gay marriage in Minnesota. State Sen. Branden Petersen, a Republican from Andover, says he's preparing to co-sponsor such a bill.
The Star Tribune says Petersen is married with two small children, and is taking a stand that not many Republicans, nor all DFLers, are ready to embrace.
He said:
"At this point, I am concerned about doing the right thing. I have a certain amount of peace about that, and I will let the chips fall where they may."
Jake Loesch, spokesman for Minnesotans United For All Families — the group pushing the gay marriage bill after successfully fighting the proposed state constitutional amendment that would have banned gay marriage — says other Republicans, too, will end up voting for the bill to legalize gay marriage.
But the paper notes that DFL state Sen. LeRoy Stumpf, of Plummer, won't be in the gay marriage corner.
"I feel strongly in my beliefs that it is not something I would support. It’s a sacrament in our church. I’m Catholic," Stumpf said.